A Question of Death
by Kitteness00
Summary: After Lightning speaks to Fang of old pains, she searches for answers to her ancestry. When it leads her to astonishing results, she is suddenly thrown into a battle for the survival of the world, of life, and her love for Fang.
1. Chapter 1

"Light?"

"Yes, Fang?"

"What do ya think happens after we die?"

"Meaning..?"

"I mean, do you think our souls simply disappear into nothingness? Or, that we're reincarnated into a different life? Or even that we're simply living in purgatory of past sins and awaiting either paradise or eternal torment?"

"Ah - well, I'm not sure, Fang. I've never really had any views on death."

"Oh, really? And why do I find that hard to believe?"

Lightning chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the Pulsian. "Because I've always been a horrible liar?"

Fang laughed and shrugged noncommitally. "That might have something to do with it, yeah," she said, "but mostly..I donno, Light, I just figured that you had to believe in somethin', with you facing the possibility of death or serious injury as a soldier everyday. Even I once believed in somethin' - you can't sit there and tell me you've never thought once about death." Fang poked Lightning accusingly on the shoulder. Lightning scowled halfheartedly before replying, "I have."

"And?"

"And, it never lead to pleasant thoughts."

Fang quirked an eyebrow. "Do explain."

Lightning pursed her lips and began absently messing with a strand of Fang's hair. "I had Serah to care for. Thoughts of death and leaving her all alone in this world - this was before Snow, mind you - made me panic and feel that just thinking about dying would bring it into being. So anytime the thought would spring up, I'd seriously distract myself so that I wouldn't go down that road." She paused, her fingers still continuing to mess with the strand of dark hair. "Sometimes, it would make me remember things."

Seeing the distant look on Lightning's face, Fang reached up and brushed her fingers across Light's cheek. She looked up and smiled sadly.

"When I was little," she said, her fingers faltering ever so slightly, "my mother would always smile and tell me dying was just like sleeping - a never-ending dream. My father would always treat it as joke, leaning in to whisper each time conspiratorially that he couldn't tell me because 'it's the greatest kept secret in the universe', whenever I'd ask.

Hand still on Lightning's cheek, Fang cracked her trademark grin. "Heh, sounds like something I would do."

Lightning snorted. "That's for sure..though, my father told me something different the night before he died. He knew he didn't have very much time left."

Fang tilted her head to the side. "Come again?"

Lightning sighed, leaning into the huntress. "It was a month before Serah's ninth birthday - I had just turned twelve a few months before. The whole day I'd noticed my father had been uncharacteristically quiet. I could sense something was wrong, but also that it wasn't the right time to ask about it. So, I refrained and distracted my sister from seeing and asking questions like kids always do in their innocence. Plus, Serah always had a million and one questions about anything and everything."

"And your mother? Did she notice?"

"She spent the day putting the finishing touches on Serah's birthday present, out by the beach so she wouldn't see it."

"What was it?"

"It was.." Lightning faltered, and had to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat. "It was a hair vtie. The very same hair tie she still uses to this day - our mother had spent weeks finding the perfect gems from the beachshore and polishing and putting them together to make a tie." She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Anyway, as I was getting ready to sleep that night, my father came in and sat down on my bed. I had sort of been expecting him to do something of the sort, so we sat for a few moments before he gestured for me to sit by him. I complied, frightened and terribly curious as to what was so important."

"You? Frightened? Hell musta froze over!"

"Hush, Fang, I was twelve years old and still Claire," Lightning said, lips twitching.

Fang grinned sheepishly. "Right, sorry, pardon my interruption."

"As I was saying.." Lightning cleared her throat.

"After I sat down, he grabbed my hand and held it as he said, 'Claire, dear, you know I love you and this family terribly, don't you?' For a minute, I was confused by the question. He went on before I could say anything.

'Do you remember how I've always said the mystery of death is the greatest kept secret in the univerese?' Still confused, I couldn't speak.

"I remember he smiled sadly. 'I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you.' In that moment, I knew whatever he would say next would forever change my life. When my father spoke next, he said, 'Claire, I have a very short time left to live. You're old enough now to understand death and what it means. Many years ago, I managed to cheat death in an..unconventional way. Because of this, I know a little secret of my own about death.

'What happens when we die is still a mystery - however, each and every one of us has a different end waiting for us. It's completely different per person.'

He pulled me into a crushing hug before I could finally voice my confusion, telling me he and my mother wouldn't be around forever - that when they were gone, it would be my job to watch over Serah, and continue the family business if needed. He made me promise I'd do my absolute best. It..was the last time I ever saw him."

"Woah woah woah, hold on a second, Light. You're telling me your father could tell when he was going to die, most likely the exact moment from the sound of it, and so took it upon himself to ensure you'd watch over your sister and continue whatever the family business was?"

"Yes. He died the very next day and my mother followed suit just a few hours after. For the longest time, I blamed myself for their deaths. I thought that I could have saved them - you know, twelve-year old feeling of invincibility and the childish belief I could have stopped them from going to work that day, and all." Lightning paused, a small bitter twist of the lips gracing her face. "Truthfully, I think my dad thought my mother would stay with us for a few years yet, but it seems Death was feeling particularly vengeful."

Fang frowned, moving closer."Are you sure you haven't fallen and hit your head lately?" She began checking for signs of an injury. "This all seems a little..."

Lightning swatted her hands away. "Farfetched? I know, Fang. To this day I'm still not sure what he meant by the 'family business'. We never had a business."

"And you never thought to think that maybe he meant a past business?" Fang frowned.

"I already checked. Two days after the funeral I spent an entire week digging into what ancestry I could find. There was barely anything at all, and what I could find, didn't mention anything of a family business. I would have looked for more, but...I had Serah to look after."

"Huh. That's strange. I guess calling your dad completely bonkers is out, too? Since he was right about dyin' an' all - Ow!"

Lightning glared at Fang, her fist still clenched from the punch. "Not funny, Fang."

Fang rubbed her throbbing shoulder for a second before pulling the soldier into a warm embrace. "I know, Sunshine. I wasn't being serious - you just looked so upset I thought a little joke would help. Bad choice of words."

Lightning relaxed instantly in the arms of the huntress.

"Fang?" she asked, running her fingers lightly over the tattoo on Fang's arm.

"Yeah, Sunshine?"

"Why did you ask me about my opinion on dying?"

Fang was silent for a moment before stroking Lightning's hair. "I've just been thinkin' lately, is all. I mean, it's just hard to believe that after everything we've been through there's no surety as to what awaits us at the very end. I don't like not knowin', Light."

Lightning pulled back a little from Fang and put a finger to her lips. "I don't like not knowing either, but, there's not much we can do about it except keep heading forward." She pulled back a little farther and intertwined their fingers. "Together."

Fang grinned and pulled Lightning back into her arms for a kiss. "I like the way you think, Sunshine."


	2. A Rock and A Hard Place

_A/N: So, after seeing the results of chapter one I thought I'd get this out. It was an experiment, though I am happy to say that I'm satisfied with the results enough to continue with it :D Thank you those who kindly reviewed! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

_Edited: 6-3-11_

A Rock and A Hard Place

Orange and red leaves drifted to the ground in the wake of a slight breeze. Small children ran through the piles of multi-coloured leaves, laughing and playing with not a care in the world. Parents stood by and watched on fondly, remembering days in which they, too, enjoyed life without worries. It was a beautiful day - slightly overcast, not too cold, not too warm. A perfect in between.

Standing under a leaveless tree in the far end of the park, Lightning felt terribly alone and stuck.

After telling Fang the day before about her father and the very last, peculiar conversation with him, Lightning had felt better and worse. After having locked it away for so many years, it had felt liberating to get it off her chest. But _because_ she had locked it away for so many years, she had forgotten the niggling mystery, and pain, it brought.

Suffice to say, Lightning was deeply troubled.

After the whole l'cie business, she had sworn to herself that she would do better with Serah. Having to relocate to Oerba had helped, Serah having had no choice but to stay with Lightning (not that Serah was complaining - she, too, wanted to work on things with her sister) while the people rebuilt Oerba and started reconstructing salvageable parts of Cocoon. Snow had decided to stay with NORA, knowing that living with the sisters would be a bad move on his part. Vanille and Fang had moved in with Lightning, as well, after a short bit in crystal stasis - a simple two weeks. Fang had claimed the short time was due to the fact that Lightning couldn't live without her favourite hunter. The real reason remained a mystery, however, and everyone was content to leave it at that.

So far, Lightning and Serah were making progress. It was agonizingly slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless. To try and pretend the past nine years hadn't happened would be a huge mistake. They had silently agreed to take things slow. Now, with Oerba thriving and the reconstruction going supremely well, Lightning felt the inevitable departure of Serah from her daily life. Serah and Snow had decided to postpone the wedding until after things were settled down. Lightning felt she had half a year at the least. It didn't feel like enough.

It wasn't helping anything, either.

Watching the children having the time of their lives with their parents looking on lovingly was like a slap in the face to Lightning. She loved, and hated, autumn. She loved it because the heat of the summer finally gave way to the cooler, more temperate weather of fall. She loved it because all the trees turned beautiful colors, their leaves falling gracefully to the ground. Piles would be made, people would jump into them in delight, and the leaves themselves would make a satisfying _crunch_ noise when stepped on by happy people. She loved it because it tasted of freedom, of happiness, of _love._

These things were also what made her hate it.

She hated it because her parents died in autumn. She hated it because she had to look on and watch others be so happy with their families. She hated it because autumn had taken everything away from her.

Normally she'd have been able to shove her emotions into a box and throw away the key, leaving her body on a sort of autopilot. But Fang had demolished all her walls and defenses during their time as a l'cie - she was helpless now against the onslaught.

She didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the irony. To top it all off, she couldn't get her father's last words to her out of her head. They kept repeating themselves like a broken record - _'Watch over Serah, and continue the family business if needed.'_ She had been so obsessed with those very words, she had practically blackmailed Fang that morning into restarting her research into her ancestry while she was on duty.

Yes, Lightning was indeed stuck. Stuck between a rock, and a hard place.

It wasn't a very pleasant place to be, not very pleasant at all. Beginning to feel edgy and on the precipice of a breakdown, Lightning reached down to her communicator to contact Fang and see if she could just _get her mind to shut up_. Before she even touched it, however, it rang. Startled, she answered without thinking, and heard Fang herself say in a strained voice, "Lightning, you might want to get down here and take a look at this. I think I've found somethin'."


	3. Breakdown

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do it._

_Edited: 6-4-11_

Breakdown

"Fang," Lightning said, utterly confused, "what, exactly, am I looking at?"

"Well, that's the thing - I _think_ I know what it is, but that would mean..."

"Mean what? Fang, talk to me."

After Fang's call, Lightning had rushed all the way to the makeshift archival building serving as the library. On the way, a million and one different possibilities had rushed through her head as to why Fang had sounded so strange. Just the fact she had found anything at all had squeezed Lightning's insides in a deluge of anticaptory feelings: fear, anxiety, an overwhelming sense of _need_. After arriving, however, nothing had changed - her insides were still heaving, her mind was still in chaos, and nothing had been answered. Fang was remaining surprisingly tight-lipped about things.

What she was looking at was an old parchment with curious Gran Pulse characters scattered about in a circular fashion. The parchment itself was a tough leather, the characters engraved into the hard hide. To Lightning's eye, they seemed to shimmer and shift in the lighting. It began in the middle and branched out with darting lines to a second circle of characters, then a third, fourth, and so forth - it seemed neverending.

"Fang, please, _please_, talk to me. What is this?" Lightning implored. The serious and troubled look on Fang's face was bringing that breakdown closer by the second. _'Watch over Serah and continue the family business if needed...Watch over Serah and continue the family business if needed..._

"Lightning," Fang began, biting on a nail, "promise me you won't freak over what I'm about to tell you."

Lightning's insides twisted a thousand times worse. Her voice was a mere escape of breath when she spoke. "Fang?"

She turned to stare fully at Lightning, a determined expression dominating the worry in her eyes. She grabbed Lightning's hands, grip surprisngly soft. "What your looking at is part of a Gran Pulse version of a family tree. It covers only a few generations, but as luck would have it, a few generations hundreds of years ago."

Suddenly grasping what this could possibly mean, Lightning found she no longer could speak. She was helpless and silent as Fang noticed her discomfiture and gripped her hands tighter, straining to keep her rooted. "The last bit happens right before my time, with a slightly different variation of the name than before. I'm not sure if the start of this particular bit is the actual start of the family line, but the implication is the same nonetheless." Taking a deep breath and switching her hold to Lightning's soldiers, Fang stared into her eyes. "Claire, you have ancestral roots in Gran Pulse, most likely dating back to the very start of the worlds and everything itself."

Lightning could no longer breathe. Her mind was exploding and going in a hundred different directions, her heart going a mile minute, and the world getting dangerously dark and tilting on its axis. Her throat felt choked with years of pent up emotion, and of the things running through her mind, one thing stood out the most: How had Fang found this so quickly?

Not hearing Fang calling her name loudly, or feeling the strong arms and panicked heartbeat of her beloved hunter, Lightning collapsed into a swarm of overwhelming odds.

* * *

_A great storm is raging. Rain is falling in torrents, lightning is flashing with malicious intent, and thunder is rolling with a vengeance. Wind is noticeceably absent, as is any immediate vegetation. _

_At the center of it all, Claire is standing on a precipice. _

_All around her is a barren, jagged landscape devoid of any life. Two distinctive paths lie before her: to the right is a particularly sharp and painful path with an obscure ending; to the left, a dark and shrouded pathway with no ending at all: just ceaseless darkness. Straight below is a sharp drop into nothingness. But what makes Claire gasp in fear and causes her legs to quake, is what she sees coming right at her._

_Right before her is the largest swirl of chaos she has ever laid eyes upon. A twisting tornado is carving a swathe through the empty land, obliterating everything in it's way. It is wide and long by miles, it's color darker than oblivion. But what makes Claire so terrified is the fact that it is heading straight for her._

_Claire has no idea what to do._

_She knows she has a choice to make. _

_She can't turn and look back, no matter how much she tries to turn her head._

_She is struck with a paralyzing indecision._

_Frozen to the spot, she can only look on as the twister edges closer and closer..._

_The rain pours, the lightning flashes, the thunder roars, and Death smiles. _


	4. Secrets and Sisters

_A/N: Here we are, chapter four already here, and I yet to begin studying for an important test tomorrow . Isn't procrastination just lovely? :P but in my defense, it really is near impossible to focus on studying when your mind is elsewhere. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

_Edited: 6-4-11_

Secrets and Sisters

Holding Lightning in her arms, Fang willed her heartbeat to calm and her panic to recede. She had halfway expected her to react like this - fainting and all. If the reason for it wasn't so serious, she'd have laughed. But, as it was, this was no laughing matter. Not even close. News like this isn't exactly given over a congenial cup of tea. Fang could see it now - sitting in Lightning's house, sipping their tea daintily, talking about it calmly and offhandedly: _Oi, Lightning guess what? You're descended from _Gran Pulse, _of all things! Can ya imagine? All these years of hatred and fear, and all along a _Cocoon_ citizen is actually _Pulsian_. Who woulda guessed? _Lightning, taking another sip, would say, _That is something, to be sure. Very interesting. Would you like more tea, Fang? _

Yes, no laughing matter. But the image almost sent Fang into hysterics.

It did work to calm her down, though. Taking a deep breath, she clutched Lightning closer as she dug into Lightning's many pouches for her communicator. If Fang knew Lightning, and know her she did, Lightning would have Serah on speed dial. After flipping it open and pressing a few buttons, Fang saw she was correct. Taking another steadying breath to ensure she wouldn't sound _too_ panicked, she hit the call button and braced herself.

* * *

Sitting at the kitchen counter in her and Lightning's home (though it could be argued that it was actually Lightning's and Serah was just a guest), Serah looked over her notes on Cocoon and Gran Pulse History once again. Vanille had left in the early morning right after Fang and Lightning had departed, leaving a note saying she would return later in the day. Snow had dropped in later that morning to pass on the news that he and NORA were going to be busy hunting fiends all day, saying the group needed a break from 'hunting the stupids of society.' It brought a giggle to her lips at the memory, as it had at the time, of Snow's displeasure of working with the Guardian Corps to guard the city from danger. He thought his 'heroic abilities' were better put to use fighting _fiends_ instead of the..darker side of the general public.

She sighed, suddenly missing his booming voice and reassuring presence. With Lightning going to be gone all day as well, Serah was left with nothing to do except study, and she felt she had studied enough. Lightning had convinced her to go to school for her most beloved subject: History. Her classes were never boring, the information never ceased to amaze her, and the work was challenging but not to the point that it was too difficult. It was great. Things were great. Life was great.

But, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

Shaking her head, Serah resumed going over the War of Transgression (for the thousandth time) when her communicator went off. Thinking it was Snow, she answered without looking at the ID. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was definitely _not_ Snow's, and quite accented. _"Serah?"_

Puzzled, Serah said, "Fang? I thought you didn't have a communicator - how are you calling me?"

Fang's response was just as puzzling as the fact she had called at all, and her slightly breathless and worried tone made Serah uneasy. _"I don't, I'm using Lightning's." _Fang rarely called Lightning by her full first name. Her uneasiness increased. _"You see, ah, Light's had a bit of a..shocker, and, ahh..I need some help getting her home." _Serah's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Fang, what's happened? Is she okay? What do you mean, 'shocker'? Did she-"

Fang interrupted her questions. _"Yes, yes, she's fine, she just..toppled over with shock. Listen, I still haven't learned how to drive your thrice-damned hoverbikes or whatevar they're called so I can't just take over Sunshine's out front. Is Snow around?" _Now that sounded more like Fang - impatient, sarcastic, and always saying what's on her mind. Serah relaxed a little.

"I'm afraid he's out of town killing fiends with NORA," Serah said, hearing Fang swear under her breath. She continued, "But, he left his velocycle here and I'm more than capable of operating it. Just tell me where you guys are and I'll be there soon."

Fang blew out a breath, the sounds of the gears turning in her head practically audible to Serah as the huntress thought. It made Serah smile in amusement. _"Well," _Fang said after a moment,_ "Sunshine'll kill me if she ever found out I let you on one of those things alone, but I don't really have a choice at the moment. We're at the east edge of town in the library. You know where it's at, yeah?"_

Serah nodded her head without realizing Fang couldn't see. "Yes, I do. I'll be there soon - bye, Fang!" She hung up, and suddenly realized Fang hadn't tell her anything of what was wrong. Feeling anxious and uneasy all over again, Serah grabbed Snow's keys to the velocycle from the hook by the kitchen door and ran out the front door. Her hands were shaking as she fired up the bike and set off for the Library.

* * *

Fang sighed in relief, knowing she had narrowly dodged a bullet in stopping Serah's questions. It wouldn't do to have revealed anything too soon. She looked down when she felt something grab her arm in a death grip, thinking Lightning was awake. However, the soldier was still asleep and looking very distressed. She was sweating, breathing heavily, and as Fang could now feel, gripping her arm painfully. Fang's heart squeezed in sympathy for her pink-haired beloved. She ran her fingers through Lightning's hair, feeling the guilt she had squashed down from the moment she called Light. _I'm sorry, Sunshine_.

Setting her down, Fang stood and looked at the parchment on the table a few steps away. The Pulsian characters moved and glittered with a quiet, subtle power. Fang pressed her lips together and scooped it up, folding it almost angrily and shoving it into a pocket on her belt. "Damn you.."

Hearing the sound of someone arriving out front, Fang shoved her thoughts away and scooped up Lightning once again, heading towards the entrance. Lightning curled almost instantly into the huntress, beginning to tremble. Fang's heart tore in two, the guilt washing over her twofold. _I'm so sorry._

Serah was waiting by the bike, worry evident on her features. Her expression changed to one of horror as she spotted Fang grimly carrying Lightning through the doorway. "Fang!" Serah just about screeched as she ran over, "What happened? And don't you _dare_ tell me she just 'toppled over from shock.' I want the truth, now!" Fang almost laughed at how furious and protective the tinier Farron was being. However, the hiss in her voice curbed any desire to laugh. Fang sighed. "Let's not get into this here, Serah," she said, pleading and demanding with her eyes. "I'll tell you everything when we get home, just please, help me get her there."

Serah fumed for a moment before throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Fine, but the moment Light's settled you and I are going to have a talk."

Fang nodded, walking over the bike and settling at the very back with Lightning cradled in her arms like a frightened child. As Serah climbed in front, Fang chuckled in half-hearted amusement, "Ya know, if you weren't such a tiny thing we'd have probably been stuck with you trying to drive while keeping Lightning from falling off." Serah snorted, replying, "And you would have been stuck _walking _home. Hold on tight, it looks like it's going to storm soon and I want to be back before then."

And with that, the bike roared into the clouds under Serah's guiding hands.

* * *

The moment they arrived, Fang carried Lightning up to her room and tucked her into bed. On the way, the soldier had broken out into a cold sweat and the trembling had turned to shivering. Fang wanted more than anything to climb in with her and chase away all her nightmares and pain, but Serah was waiting in the kitchen to have their little talk. With a sigh she turned away, but not before thinking to grab her worn and tattered stuffed chocobo from her edge of the bed and tucking it under Lightning's arms. She clutched it almost possessively, and Fang smiled at the sight.

From below, she could hear Serah making tea. The sound made Fang snort as it brought to mind her pondering on 'bad news over tea.' It had started to drizzle on the way, and it was a miracle Lightning had escaped getting wet at all. Fang was soaked and Serah nearly so. She walked through the hall and down the stairs lost in thought. Arriving in the kitchen, however, she was brought to earth as Serah was seated at the bar, a blanket around her and a cup of steaming tea in her hands. A simliar arrangement awaited Fang across from Serah. With a weary sigh, she buried herself in the warm fabric, momentarily losing herself in _not thinking_ and _just feeling._

Serah broke her respite. "Fang," she said quietly, "you owe me an explanation." The pulsian chuckled dryly, reaching a hand out of her warm enclosement to grasp her mug. "Yeah, I s'pose I do." Raising the tea to her head, she made the opening of the blanket around her head bigger to take a sip. "You might want to brace yourself, Serah," she said. Serah raised an eyebrow at the near ominous sentence. Before she could question Fang further, however, the huntress spoke again. "It has to do with your ancestry, love."

Serah blinked in puzzlement as Fang took another sip. Here down below, the youngest Farron was to learn of the past. Up above, the older Farron was reliving it.

*insert ruler*

_Lightning was dreaming. She was sure of it. How else could she be reliving the events of that awful day with such painful clarity? _

_Across from her, on the rooftop, was her father repairing the computer that controlled the Satellite. As a highly experienced computer technician, people from all over employed him to fix all their problems. This job just happened to be at the very apex of a tower. He was suspended and supported by cables, as the computer was at the top of the Satellite itself. She knew what was going to happen next - it was impossible, it never should have happened, but it did, it DID - and there was nothing she could do. As she had been that day, she was immobile as she watched. _

_It seemed in slow motion as she took note of the cables, ever strong and __never__ weak, strangely unwinding themselves. Her father took no notice as his lifeline was slowly unraveling. It picked up speed, going faster and faster, until, all at once chaos broke out:_

_The cables flung themselves around and her father swung away from the Satellite, scrabbling for a hold -_

_The supports on his belt unwelded themselves and the cables attached there flung away as well, his body now wholly unattached -_

_His efforts at finding a hold were futile as he fell away, hitting the side of the building - _

_He was falling -_

_Falling -_

_Falling -_

_And then he was splatter and gore on the ground. Nothing was left of her father that was living,, and she had watched every moment. _

_Staring at the bloody mess, she began to cry._

* * *

Lightning shot awake, gasping for breath and tears on her face. A low rumble of thunder in the distance and the soft pitter patter of rain helped to bring her back to reality. Her gasps turned to sobs as she clutched whatever was in her hands tighter to herself. For years she had had that nightmare, and now, it was back.

Feeling suddenly anxious, she flung the blankets from her and practically jumped to the window. She dimly noted it was Fang's old, stuffed chocobo she was holding as she stared out the window. Droplets of water danced on the window as the rain gently fell, a cascade of tears. It reminded her of when Serah was little and had proclaimed the sky must be really sad to cry so many tears. _Sad indeed._

She reached a hand up and pressed her trembling fingers to the cool glass. Something in the corner of her mind shifted for her attention, but it darted away before she could grasp it. The rain was the cause, she knew.

Backing up, Lightning sat down on the edge of the bed, still facing the window. She brought the stuffed chocobo to her chest and held it there with her arms. An echo of an image flashed through her mind as more thunder sounded, but it was watered down and muddied, as if staring at a dense puddle of water. It looked like a hurricane, but she knew that wasn't right. Suddenly frustrated, she buried her head into the chocobo. Neither Lightning nor Claire at the moment, she thought.

She had partially lied to the Fang (was it just the day before? It seemed forever ago now) about that final conversation with her father being the last time she had ever seen him. She hadn't physically seen his death, if that made any sense. She had been walking to school with her sister and mother at the time - and yet, she had been there, seeing everything. The report given to her (and not her mother - her mother was already dead by the time they got to Claire about her father) had been every shred of evidence she'd needed. They had said the cables supporting him had somehow snapped, the pressure of the sudden lapse causing the supports in his belts to rip off as well, unfortunately sending him to his death fifteen stories below. But she hadn't told them she already knew he was dead, or even how he died. They'd have locked her away and thrown away the key.

The same thing had happened with her mother - Claire had been far from the scene, and yet had seen everything. The swarm of awful memories almost took over her mind before she managed to quell it. It was amazing she had avoided anyone finding out at all with her nightmares.

Except, Fang would probably find out now.

The half lie sat in the pit of her stomach. She felt bad for lying to Fang like that, but she had had no idea how to explain it. In her more particularly depressing moments over the years, she had thought Death was visiting his _especial_ vengeance on her for her father's past transgression of cheating him. She had taken the easy way out when speaking to Fang about it and had just omitted it all together.

Now, she felt the need for Lightning to reemerge. The Lightning that had been before the l'cie catastrophe (could it be called a catastrophe? Everything would be so different now if it hadn't had happened), the Lightning that had been halfway shoved around by Claire in the aftermath. Fang had been responsible for this, for tearing away her only defense system. _Well_, she thought, _no more. Lightning came to be for a reason, and that reason still exists. _

Filled with a sudden numbing determination, she cast aside Claire. Lightning stood and walked to the bathroom, finding in her reflection the absence of tears on her face and the reestablishment of her walls in her eyes. Albeit, they weren't as strong as before, but they would do. She shoved her emotions away as best as she could and donned her blank face. She would not give in to Fang. She absolutely would not.

Armed once again, Lightning held her secret and lie close to her heart as she made the bed and set the stuffed chocobo on top of the covers before proceeding downstairs. _I will not give in._


	5. Change and Puzzlement

_A/N: So I think this chapter pales in comparison to the pervious ones. I chalk it down to it being a Monday and me not getting my customary nap - I need my Monday naps _ Hope you've been paying attention so far! A good mystery always leaves clues along the way to the resolution and I've been doing my fair share, here and there. I'm actually surprised no one's said anything about the dreams yet :P In any case, I personally feel this chapter is rather boring and blase - plus I also failed to make it longer. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

Change and Puzzlement

Still speaking in the kitchen, Fang and Serah were oblivious to Lightning's turmoil and decision upstairs. They had reached their third cup of tea and Serah was mulling over what Fang had just told her. "So," she began, slowly running her fingers over the rim of her mug, "what you're saying, is that the name has changed over the years, along with the accompanying symbol next to the name that's sort of like a crest of some sort?"

Fang nodded, staring at the parchment she had shown Serah. "Basically. There's more to it than that, but that's the face value of things." She took another sip of tea before continuing. "Like, for instance, that the symbol shouldn't have been able to change if they were just changing the name." Serah frowned, tilting her head to the side as she spoke, "Shouldn't?' What do you mean?"

"I mean there's some sort of magic woven into the symbol when it's given to the family it's meant for. It creates a sort of binding connection between the name and the symbol, and to have it change like that..either they had power greater than the Fal'cie's or they managed to undergo some sort of transformation that resulted in the change."

"I've never come across such a thing in my classes. What was their purpose?"

"To differentiate between families and provide a means of displaying that family's role in society. Like for my clan," Fang, said, tapping the tattoo on her arm, the movement noticeable under the huge blanket, "Bahamut was the symbol used to distinguish us as great hunters. Make sense?" Serah nodded before asking, "Were all symbols some resemblance of an Eidolon, or..?"

Fang pursed her lips as she thought. "Well, it depended on the ranking of the family in society, how well their craft related to a known Eidolon, how well they performed their craft, how well-known they were for their work, and so on. The Yun clan was the best set of hunters, no boast, "she joked. Serah only made a _Hmm_ sound as she stared down into her tea in thought. Fang fixed her gaze onto the far wall, thinking that the younger Farron had taken the news suprisingly well - _Though maybe not so suprising, what with Sunshin already having done research years ago and more directly influenced by the Sanctum,_ she thought. She began wandering through happy memories of her time in Oerba before becoming Ragnarok and decimating thousands of lives.

It was like this that Lightning found them after descending from above.

Neither noticed how she stood and watched them for a few moments before walking towards the still-warm kettle of tea on the stove, and remained ignorant until she was standing by the side of the island, quietly sipping her own tea. It was with a jolt that the two women finally took notice and exclaimed at once -

"_Bloody hell_, Light, what in the blazes are you-"

"Lightning! What are you doing awake so soon? Are you okay, you didn't hurt yourself-"

Lightning raised a brow at them. "Enjoying a cup of tea before heading back to the Library. Is that such a crime?"

Serah blushed while Fang frowned. Something was off about Lightning that Fang couldn't quite put her finger on. There was something different in the way she held herself and how she avoided Fang's eyes. _Something's not right._ She raised her eyebrows at the soldier. "And just why would you want to head back in this miserable drizzle? You obviously have no hoverbike or whatevar they're bloody called, so you'll just get drenched the minute you step outside. How 'bout you just stay here and have a good, ol' time with your favorite sexy hunter and sister?"

Still avoiding Fang's eyes, Lightning looked down into her cup as she replied, "Because I have to get back to work, and to do that, I need my velocylce." Fang narrowed her eyes. _Something's definitely up. _Shedding her blanket, she hopped up from the stool and stretched. "I'll come with ya then! Don't want ya getting a cold an' all," she said, winking at Serah. She giggled at Fang before hopping down as well and going to stand by her sister. "Yup!"

Lightning was silent. She finally looked Fang in the eyes, and what Fang saw made her alarm flags flare in warning big time - there was no emotion whatsoever in those azure depths. It was like staring at a fancy-coloured wall. "You're already soaked to the bone, blanket and tea or no. You'll be the one getting sick if you come with me. Besides, I won't have time to drop you off and you'd just end up walking back." Cold, efficient, and practical, it was a basic Lightning repsonse she'd expect from when they had met. The alarm flags flared more. Lightning walked away from the pair, slipping her house keys into one of her pouches. "I won't be back for dinner, don't wait up for me." And with that, she stalked out the door and into the rain.

Fang eyed the doorway, mind focused solely on trying to figure out what happened to Lightning. It hit her like a bolt of electricity - _Because you lied and gave her news that made her _pass out_ from shock, you idiot!_ It made her heart sink and the guilt to hit her like a tidal wave. _Blubbering, thrice-be-damned, incompetent idiot! _

Serah, completely oblivious to the Fang's musings, darted off to answer the house phone. She, too, had noticed a change in Lightning but had not been as affected by it. She was sure she'd find out soon enough. Fang, on the other hand, knew she'd get nothing out of the soldier anytime in the near future. Cursing under her breath, she moved to follow Lightning through the door but was stopped as Vanille came running through, stopping only to avoid running into the huntress. "Fang!" she squeaked.

Startled, Fang asked, "Vanille? Where have you been all day?" Suddenly looking sheepish, and somewhat distraught, Vanille puffed out a nervous breath. "Well, that's what I've come to talk to you about..."

* * *

Lightning ran through the rain towards the Library. She had lied again to get Fang off her back - she didn't really need to be back at work anytime soon as she had the graveyard shift. What she really wanted was to try and track Fang's method of research (because, really, everyone knew the Pulsian rarely put anything back where she found it) and figure out just _how_ she had reached that parchment so quickly. The whole thing just nagged at her as she neared the entrance.

It was early evening and, it being fall (and the fact that it was raining), barely anyone was out in the dwindling light. Lightning saw no one as she raced along, wet to the bone and hotter than fire on the inside. Everything else was **so cold**_._ It occurred to her that running through the rain in _autumn_ wasn't such a good idea, but after her harrowing dream and haunting thoughts, she had needed a good bout of exercise. A nice distraction. It was easy to throw herself on autopilot and watch from afar as the city passed her by. Just like before.

In fact, Lightning was quite lucky the Library wasn't _really_ far away and just halfway across the city.

As she came upon the old building, she was grateful for having the sense to leave her velocylce under shelter. The precipitation would have had such fun with her bike. She paused briefly before the double doors to shake the excess water from her hair, then stepped through. As before, it was completely empty. She stalked and prowled through the shelves of books, looking for a complete mess of documents that would scream _Fang was here._

But she could find nothing at all amiss. It was baffling.

She searched up and down every aisle, darted into every nook and cranny, pulverized every dark corner - but found nothing. Nothing at all.

Just how had Fang found that parchment? Did she even find it at all? Has she had it on her all this time?

_What is she keeping from me?_


	6. Trouble

_A/N: 'ello, loves! I know, it's been a few days. Life got in the way. But! I managed to make this one longer :D hooray! But before we get started, hubble36 had a question in a review about how Lightning could so easily go back to her old self. To answer this: just think of what kind of woman Lightning is - determined, headstrong, stubborn. Once she sets her mind on something, she's gone faster than you can blink towards it. Also, she's been like that for the past almost 10 years (in this fic). I would think she'd have no trouble settling herself back into such a familiar role. Anyway! My apologies, here's the chapter. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

Trouble

When Serah answered the phone, she was delighted to hear it was Snow. _"Hey, Serah!" _he greeted, the warmth in his voice instantly chasing away her split-moment despair over the sudden change in Lightning. She smiled widely and responded, "Hi, Snow! How's everything with NORA?" She could hear the group joking with each other in the background, shooting jabs back and forth. A loud guffaw was heard before Snow answered, _"Great! It's awesome to finally get out of city and take on _real _enemies. Not much to challenge us when it's just a common criminal."_ Serah giggled, fondly recalling the one time he had deliberately let a thief get a _long_ headstart just to 'get some action.'

_"How're things on your end? Sis and Fang destroyed another part of the house yet?" _Snow's question and amused laughter broke Serah out of her memories. She instantly recalled the strange behavior of Lightning that Snow's call had chased away. It made her frown. "Well..." she started, unsure of what to say.

_"Serah? Is something wrong?"_

"I don't..know."

_"What do you mean? What's happened?"_

The instant concern in his voice made her quickly reassure him. "Nothing's happened, not to me at least. It's just that something went on between Lightning and Fang, and now Light's acting weird."

_"Weird as in..?"_

"She was uncharacteristically short with Fang this afternoon before running out into the storm that just hit."

_"Are you sure the two didn't just have a fight?"_

Serah frowned, not sure how much to tell him. She began fiddling with her engagement necklace. "Absolutely sure. You see, Fang discovered a bit of family history today at Light's behest and it was..quite shocking to her. She's not mad at Fang, I know it has nothing to do with me, and it's just so unlike her to go charging into the rain like this."She bit her lip, feeling lost. "I'm missing something, Snow. I know I am."

There was silence on the other end as NORA started screaming at each other and Snow yelling over their noise to _be quiet, Serah's on the phone._ There was a slight pause as they settled down and Snow took a slight breath. _"Sorry about that," _he nervously chuckled. _"As to Lightning, I don't know, Serah. Maybe she just feesl she needs her space after what Fang found."_

Serah bit her lip, knowing that wasn't it either. But she also knew she wouldn't be able to solve this mystery with Snow's help. He was just too far away and she didn't know enough yet. "Maybe," she conceded, distantly hearing Fang talking to someone by the front door very loudly. It didn't sound pretty. "Listen, Snow, I think someone's at the door. Call back later?"

_"You betcha! We'll probably be heading back in a bit anyway, that storm's starting to head our way now. Love you!" _Serah nodded her head, making her goodbyes, and wandered to the door. Standing in the doorway completely dry despite the rain was Vanille, looking worried and determined at the same time. Fang's back was to Serah, but she could tell by the tense set in her shoulders that her expression wasn't a happy one - she'd seen Light with the same posture many times over the years. Neither heard her footsteps as she approached, and because of this she managed to catch the explosive end of their conversation -

"Fang, please! That's not what I -"

"The hell it isn't! You know damned well - "

"_Of course_ I do, but that's not - "

"Don't you lie to me to me Vanille," and here, Fang stepped closer to her, hand slashing through the air -

"I'm _not!_ Why would I? There was _plenty_ of good reason - "

"_Good reason_!" Fang was roaring now, quickly losing her handle on her rage and Vanille's voice rose in challenge of hers -

"_Yes,_ and after what happened today you should understand - "

"Understand? And just what do you know of what happened today, you weren't even _here - "_

"I just _do!_ You're my _sister_, Fang, why can't you understand?"

They were both silent now as tears glistened in Vanille's bright eyes. She angrily swiped at them as Fang sighed. She reached out a hand, "Vanille - "

"Don't start! You and I both know you're **not** sorry!"

It was at this moment that Vanille finally noticed Serah watching them, causing her to squeak in surprise. Fang whirled around, the raging whirlpool of emotions in her eyes staggering to the little Farron. Serah cleared her throat nervously. "Are you two..okay?"

Fang only pressed her lips together into a thin line, eyes still a torrent and boring into Serah as if she were blaming her for something. Vanille bowed her head and continued to wipe her tears away. The three stood like this for many long moments before Fang said, "No, I'm not bloody well okay," and reentered the kitchen. Serah watched with concern as she. She had never seen Fang like this, nor had she ever heard anyone relate stories of Fang this..infuriated. She didn't know what to make of it.

She turned back to Vanille and walked over to embrace her. Vanille rested her head on Serah's shoulder, tears still finding their way through her shut eyes. "And you?" Serah asked, rubbing Vanille's arm soothingly. Vanille only shook her head and continued to cry.

Serah heard the phone go off again, but ignored it. Vanille needed her right now. She had only fought like that with Lightning a few times and she knew how awful it felt. Halfway through the fourth ring, it stopped. _Fang must have answered it. _Serah's guess was confirmed when she heard a low mumbling from the kitchen.

She grasped Vanille by the shoulders and pushed her back a little to look her in the eyes. "It'll be okay," she said, reaching up to wipe the remaining tears away. "I'm sure she'll cool down and listen to you later."

Vanille mutely nodded her head and stepped farther away, reaching down to grab something she'd dropped by the door. "Here," she said, her voice small and subdued, "this is for you." Confused, Serah only had time to reach and grab the mysterious object before Fang came back from the kitchen, lance in hand. The fire in her eyes from before was now replaced with a passion of a different kind.

"That was Lightning, in case you were wonderin'. There's trouble down near the Sulyya Springs where the piping starts. Her superior wants us to help her an' the GC take care of it," Fang said, directing her attention to fiddling with her weapon.

Vanille's eyes were dry by the time Fang looked up. Vanille nodded in response and opened the door - the rain had stopped.

Neither said a word as they departed, leaving Serah to stare at the closed door for a long time. For the first time since she was branded a l'cie, she had no idea what to do.

* * *

Lightning was standing at the table where the parchment had lain, before she had passed out and taken home. She had both palms pressed against it, weight leant entirely into it. Her only conclusion was that Fang had taken it before they left. _But where did you get it? _Frustrated, she dug her nails into the wood. She now realized she never asked how Fang had magically got her home completely dry while she was drenched. Her military-issued wireless earphone went off in her pouch, drawing her attention. Lightning sighed before swiping it and placing it on her ear. "Farron here."

_"Lieutenant Farron, Captain Amodar speaking."_

"What do you need, sir?"

_"We've got a situation near our pipes in the Sulyya Springs. I want you to grab your two Pulsians and get over there ASAP. Your elite squadron members will meet you at the Springs entrance, along with Snow and NORA if I can get a hold of them. Understood?" _

"I'm on it, sir."

_"One more thing - consider this your shift tonight."_

"Yes, sir."

_"Good luck."_

She hung up but kept it in - she was officially on duty now. Straightening, she realized she was still pretty wet from the rain. "Oh well," she muttered, marching towards the door and whipping out her communicator. She dialed her home as she fired up her velocycle. It answered on the fourth ring. _"What?" _

The voice was irritable and accented, making Lightning pause before continuing. "Fang, this is Lightning. Where's Serah?"

There was a snort before Fang replied. _"Busy, I expect. Why, do ya need to speak to her?" _

"No, I actually need to speak to _you._ And Vanille, if she's there."

_"Oh? An' just what do you want?"_

Lightning paused again, hearing the fury underlying her words. She could have sworn slight emphasis had been placed on the 'you' part. _Something happened while I was gone. _Shaking her worry off, she resumed her brisk manner. "There's something up by the pipes in Sulyya Springs. Captain Amodar wants you and Vanille to meet my squad and I there."

Another snort, this one somehow managing to sound slightly hysterical. _"Well, ain't that just dandy? Well you're in luck, _Sunshine, _Vanille just arrived not too long ago. We'll be there soon."_

"One more thing. We need to talk, Fang."

_"I imagine we bloody well do!"_ There was the fury, all lined out in a nice snarl. _"We'll have our little chat once your military business is done."_ Another snarl, and before Lightning could reply, Fang hung up. Surprised at the sudden cutoff, Lightning threw her communicator back into its pouch and revved the velocycle high into the sky. She channeled her confusion and frustration into going at a breakneck speed. Because of this, she soon reached the Springs and made such a reckless landing that her squad had to scramble out of the way.

Her frustration and anger had returned.

Seeing Snow and NORA making their way there from the far east didn't help her mood. She nurtured the anger to keep it burning, to keep her from thinking. Rage had always been a useful tool in helping to hide things inside.

"What's the situation?" she asked her second leading squad member, Drake. He saluted her, responding, "There's some abnormality with the water, ma'am. We weren't given specifics, only that we were to help you and your fellow former l'cie."

She raised an eyebrow at this. "And just why are the former l'cie needed?"

Drake tapped the gun at his side for a second, then said, "Captain Amodar thinks elemental magic will help. We haven't found a single, completely functional manadrive yet, so you guys are the only people able to use magic at this time."

Lightning nodded, turning to survey her squad. She was pleased to see they were idly messing with things and not listening to Maya, her leading squard member. It gave her something to channel her rage into. Bringing her fingers to her lips, Lightning let out a shrill whistle. The soldiers instantly straightened to attention and turned to look at her. Seeing the dangerous expression on her face, they scrambled to get back into formation. "Enough messing around," she commanded, glaring at each of them. "We have a job to do."

Fang and Vanille arrived at this time, dropping in from overhead. Lightning nodded to Maya and turned towards the two Pulsians.

They were quite the pair.

Fang was completely tense and coiled for attack, fury brimming on the edges of her movements. Vanille was cowed and quiet, her face empty of expression. When Fang noticed Lightning watching her, she stopped and stared. Lightning returned the gesture, azure eyes cold and unflinching. _We have _many_ things to discuss. _The unspoken message was returned by the huntress, her own eyes hard and sharp like crystals. Vanille walked past Lightning, breaking the staredown. With a final look, Lightning turned to follow her. Fang followed without a moment's hesitation.

Facing the Guardian Corps members, Lightning addressed them. "Alright, soldiers, as I said, we have a job to do. Fang, Vanille, and I will enter at point, Maya leading with her leading portion and Drake staying behind with his to guard the entrance from fiends and greet Snow and NORA if they arrive before we're done. Understood?"

"Perfectly, Lieutenant!"

"Good. Fall in line!"

She gestured to her basic second-in-command to follow her and the two Pulsians into the cavern. It was just as beautiful and vast as she remembered - rainbows and the gentle sound of waterfalls. Sparse and few wildlife were milling about, one or two here and there looking ill. It made Lightning's caution flare. As they continued in, they noticed the area looking sicker and sicker, dead animals lying in heaps as if they had died instantly where they stood. The grass was decaying away, leaving putrid looking rock in its place. It was puzzling. Glancing back at Fang and Vanille, she noticed they didn't know what to make of it either. _Sudden illness?_

She stopped in her tracks after taking a couple more steps. Here, it was the worst - nothing was left but dead things still decaying away. The water had turned to bubbling sludge, a multitude of colours. There was nothing causing it - it didn't make any sense. Lightning kneeled by the edge, staring deeply into the center of goo. For a split second, she saw her parents as they had looked in death - _No! - _before the goo suddenly reached out and struck.


	7. Miseries

_A/N: So I've been doing a little digging lately and found some things. Like the fact that there's a series of novellas termed _Episode Zero: Promise_ that I never knew about. But the whole thing that led to that was googling Lightning out of curiosity to see what would be said about her and discovered they do, in fact, say what happened to her parents (including the age at which she was at the time). Shame they didn't include that in the game . Apparently they both died when she was fifteen of some unknown sickness. *grumble grumble* Oh well, this story is still a go :P I guess it's more than just a tad AU now. On a more fun note, I also checked out Fang and Serah and found Serah's favorite subject is indeed history (hooray for getting that right in chapter four when I was just guessing what school subject Serah would love the most based on her personality :D) and Fang's boots are boots. I had thought them sandals xD; Anyway! Many thanks to the continued reviews :3 To Ineffable Sunset, it's good to know I'm sort-of-forgiven for the last chapter's cliffhanger since I made it enjoyable ;P (love your stories by the way! [and you're welcome, hubble :P])Annnnd this A/N has gotten entirely too long, enjoy the chapter!_

Miseries

Fang was baffled and appalled at the state of the Springs.

The moment they entered she immediately wanted to leave - to have its beauty _desecrated_ like this was a heinous crime. Her already crimson-tainted vision swelled even more, the immediate area in front her the only thing in normal color. Lance gripped tightly in hand, she followed at a clipped pace behind Lightning. Vanille walked beside her, hands covering her mouth. She looked on the verge of tears. Despite their earlier argument, Fang felt a surge of protectiveness towards her. _She's still my sister, no matter what she's done. _She maneuvered ever so slightly closer to Vanille to step into any line of danger for her.

As they advanced farther in, Fang felt her insides squirm. She felt ill seeing the rotting corpses piled so high and near each other, the smell of decay only making it worse. Glancing over, Fang saw Vanille now was biting down on her fist to try and keep from crying. She gripped her lance tighter. It was when they reached the center, however, that she nearly doubled over with shock and revulsion. Vanille fell to her knees the instant they entered. They could clearly see the water now and it was beyond tainted. Grotesque, darker than glob, and probably thicker than a brick wall, it was the worst thing so far. This isn't right, she thought. Not right at all!

Fang watched Lightning step closer to the edge of the goo with trepidation. She had a feeling deep in her gut that there was danger about. She loosened her grip on her lance a little, settling into a barely perceptive defensive stance. Lightning kneeled by the edge and stared down into the glop, seemingly to search for something. Fang kept watch, tensing for the trouble that was sure to come.

But she wasn't expecting the form it took.

The goo reached out, quicker than the blink of an eye, and wrapped around Lightning's right wrist, causing her to gasp in surprise and inhale sharply in pain. She fell back with it still clinging to her and _something came out with her._ It was a horrible little thing, resembling the ectopudding they had fought in the Steppes while still l'cie. The same multitude of colours as the tainted water, it had no eyes or nose, but only openings barely preceptible. Fang was so surprised that she didn't notice the thing wrap itself farther up Lightning's arm, encasing her from her fingertips to her elbow. It took Light's uncharacteristic scream to break Fang out of her trance and leap toward the soldier. She swung her lance upward, breaking its hold as she sliced right through it. The thing roared as it shuffled back a bit, _stepping_ being the entirely wrong word, and gathered back its lost arm. It jumped off Lightning's arm and hand and gathered with the pool on the ground before launching at the thing itself, instantly forming into a limb. Glancing down, Fang saw it had _eroded_ the rock where it had touched.

_Oh,_ **hell.**

She instantly swung her gaze to Vanille, seeing her throw wind spells at the ooze thing to make it back up. Satisfied she was alright, Fang turned next to Lightning. She was hunched over her arm, gasping for breath and shaking just the slightest bit. Stepping forward to help her, she was intercepted by a smaller version of the ooze swinging its viscious little arms at her. Surprised, she jumped back and stabbed it, dismayed to see it absorb the attack and _multiply._ She pulled her lance free and wildly looked around, seeing they were quickly being surrounded. Cries of frustration were heard as Lightning's team was futilely trying to battle through to the three women. Fang cursed under her breath, certain they were going to be swarmed and die unless she could think of something. Her attention was called back to Lightning as the sound of a shriek was heard.

Backing up from the soldier was an ooze thing, half turned to black crustiness. The blade of Lightning's Apocalypse was bathed in fire, clenched in her left hand as her right arm was kept protectively against her front. "Use fire!" she shouted, standing swiftly to once more hack through the ooze, Fang watching with a deep satisfaction as it turned to soot and ash under the onslaught of fire.

"You got it, Sunshine," Fang said, turning to Vanille to supply the flames. She was already throwing Firaga to hit entire groupings at once. Fang ran through the immobile and completely fried over oozes, anger channeled into sweeping her lance through them over and over again, delighting in the feel of them smashing into the tiniest bits of blackened dust. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the soldiers making use of a flamethrower. _Etro knows where they got _that _from... _

Enraged screams and triumphant battle yells continued until the little oozes started retreating to the bigger ooze that emerged first. They threw themselves upon it, increasing its size and power. Soon, it was the only thing left of the things and it was enormous, towering high above their heads. It let loose a roar of triumph so deep it shook the walls and sent everyone falling to their feet. "Not good," Fang muttered to herself, leaping up as soon at it ended. She made her way over to Vanille, who was closest to the soldiers, and helped her up. "Fang, what are we going to do?" Vanille asked, worry and exhaustion in her eyes. Casting so many powerful spells was starting to take its toll on her.

Fang ground her teeth together in frustration and looked Vanille in the eyes. "Blast it with as much fire as we can and hope it penetrates it," Fang responded, placing her lance in its place on her back and calling upon her own fire magic in her palms. Vanille nodded, doing the same before stepping a little closer to the giant monster they now faced. Fang looked back at the soldiers, pleased to see they were doing the same as the Pulsians. "Right," she said, charging the fire spell up a notch in her hands, "come get some, you ugly, two-faced glob!" They hit it all at once, a fiery vengeance burning through its thick, gelatinous texture. It responded by throwing its massive arms in defense of itself, and stepping into the springs whence it came once more and _spitting_ more oozes half its size at them.

"Back up!" Fang yelled as she quickly retreated, pulling Vanille with her as she threw weaker fire spells to halt the advance. It was quickly beginning to look like they were up against an army. "Fang, how can we fight all these? The soldiers look low on power with their flame thing, and I barely have enough strength left for another Firaga spell, let alone the great many needed to stall all _those_ and then take down _that thing_!" Vanille exlaimed, joining the soldiers as they continued embattling the swarm. Fang only shook her head, at a loss of what they could do. Not enough power left to take them separately, the invulnerability to weapons unless completely crustified, soldiers running low on fuel, that thing having an endless supply of goo to throw at them... Not much we can do, Fang thought. Looking around the battlefield and seeing the slow, inevitable advancement of the oozes, a sudden thought occurred to her. "Oi! Have any of ya seen Light?" she called to the soldiers. Some turned around to say they haven't before turning back to fend off the advancement. Fang cursed again, wildly looking for the elusive woman. She was nowhere to be found.

That is, until she came flying from nowhere to land in an ungraceful heap near the fringe of battle. "Light!" Fang called, trying to get her attention, completely forgetting her anger at her. The soldier didn't move. "Damn it, Lightning, get _up!" _Still no movement. Expletives coming out of her mouth at record pace now, Fang ran over to her side and began shaking her. "If you don't get up right this instant..."

A slight twitch under her fingers stopped her shaking, and Fang was relieved to see Lightning stir and open her eyes. "Rise an' shine, Sunshine - we've got a _huge_ problem to take care of, and you're jus' the person to do it!" Fang said cheerfully as she hauled Lightning to her feet by her left arm. Lightning only looked questioningly at her, a question in her exhausted eyes as she raised an eyebrow. Fang bent down to whisper in her ear, then ran off to share the plan with Vanille and the group of soldiers manning the flamethrower.

Lightning moved into position, hacking away at the oozes to force them to converge into a huge multiplicative group. Vanille and Fang stood by the soldiers, the two Pulsians firing up their Fira and Firaga spells respectively as the flamethrower stopped spewing just for a moment to charge up its own power. Fang hated giving Lightning no way to stop the now uncharred mass, but it was the only way. _The only way. _"On my mark!" Fang yelled, watching in a near feverish panic the way Lightning was quickly losing ground and spending more time deflecting rather than attacking. "One, two, **three**!"

They all let loose at once, majestic flame going everywhere on its path towards the monster in the center. It roared horrifically as it was hit, the smaller oozelings being instantaneously crustified. "Now, Light!" Fang called, watching as lightning burst forth and crackled in her fingertips as she gathered its power. When she let it go, the very air ripped open as righteous electricity rained down upon the grotesque things. Everyone had to shield their eyes as the Thundaga spell shattered each and every ooze, including the monstrous one. When they could finally open their eyes again, it was to the sight of Lightning kneeling, clutching her right arm to herself. It was only then that Fang remembered the injuries to that arm due to the first ooze that had attacked. Sharing a worried glance with Vanille, Fang ran over to Lightning with Vanille at her side. "Light! You okay?"

As Fang finally got a good look at her arm she realized, no, she's definitely _not_ okay. "Oh, Etro.." she muttered, taking in the sight. Vanille squeaked and began biting her fist again. Lightning's arm was bleeding heavily, deep lacerations covering what could be seen of her forearm. Fang knelt down next to her and carefully removed her glove to examine the extent of damange. "Damn," she whispered, not liking what she saw at all. The lacerations extended to her wrist, hands a deep red with the color fading out to a lighter one at her fingertips. The skin near her elbow looked slightly purple, the colour slowly descending down. Fang was suddenly very, very worried. _Blood infection. _She looked up at Vanille, a pleading in her eyes. Even though she had to be exhausted, Vanille nodded in understanding as she knelt down.

"This may hurt a bit," she murmured, calling forth a weak Esuna spell to cleanse the blood. Lightning didn't respond to Vanille or the spell - she stayed completely still. The purple slowly receded, only diminishing completely when Vanille forced herself to pour more energy into the spell. Her eyes fluttered for a moment when the spell dissipated, slumping down as the exhaustion tripled in her system. Fang grasped Vanille's hand within her own to lend her strength. Vanille forced her eyes open and a smile on her face. She placed the hand not in Fang's just above Lightning's lacerated skin. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she forced a Curasa spell to gather in her hand, almost fainting from the effort. Fang's grip kept her focused until the spell was fully formed, then pressed it on the skin -

Only for Lightning to suddenly inhale and gargle with a suppressed scream as she threw herself away them. Fang noticed with a sinking heart the spell hadn't worked at all. In fact, it had only made things worse. The lacerations had extended, the bleeding becoming more heavy. Vanille was barely conscious next to Fang, another healing spell completely out of the question even if it would work. Lightning gathered her glove and suddenly stood up, staggering a few steps before turning around to head back to her squadron, eyes blank. "Bring me a medic," she muttered, marching out of the Springs.

* * *

Lightning sat in the hastily erected medical tent outside Sulyya Springs, trying to not punch the medic in the face as he cleansed the wound. _He's only doing his job, the job you asked him to do, don't hit him, don't hit him, don't hit him..._ She breathed a sigh of relief when he injected a bit of morphine directly into the bloodstream from the wound. The numbing began almost immediately, causing herself to relax with it. She barely noticed as he began carefully wrapping it with heavy bandages, nor how it extended to encase everything from halfway up her fingers to her elbow. The morphine was lulling her into a half-aware doze. She realized then just how _tired_ she was.

Medic man tapped her on the shoulder to address her, handing her a big bottle of painkillers and instructions to take two every four hours. Lightning watched him pack up his instruments and leave, noticing for the first time that she rarely ever saw the faces of the people who worked under her. The Guardian Corps uniforms' helmets were impenetrable to the eye, and she was rarely around them off duty to see them without it. Strange, she thought. She stood up, pocketed the painkillers, and proceeded to examine her glove. It had been wiped down and disinfected by the medic man, the resistant material having deflected the blood. She pulled it on, wincing at the jolt in her fingers it brought. She was delighted to feel it completely umarred. Satisfied, she stalked out of the tent.

She was irritated to see Snow and NORA had made it after all and fraternizing with her squadron. Next to them, Fang and Vanille stood with Vanille leaning heavily on the huntress. Recalling the amount of the energy the younger Pulsian had spent during the battle, Lightning was amazed she was still on her feet. She didn't have time to observe much more, however, as Snow noticed her. "Hey, sis!" he called, waving his arms above his head childishly. She sighed, unable to summon more bite under the influence of the morphine, and walked over to them. Everyone's eyes widened as she got closer. "Wow, you look awful," Snow said, taking in the spatters of blood, black ash, burnt edges, and slightly lidded eyes. Lightning merely dipped her head in acknowledgement, turning to look at Fang. The huntress was watching her with concern. Lightning only shared her gaze for a moment before addressing Snow. "How long have you been here?" she asked, voice emotionless.

Snow scratched the back of his head. "Maybe eight minutes at the most. We ran into a mudslide on our way over that slowed our progress." He dropped his arm and looked at her apologetically, a seriousness in his eyes. "Sorry we didn't get here sooner. The battle might have gone a bit better if we had."

Lightning blinked once, slowly, suddenly feeling drowsy. _Damn morphine._ "Perhaps. Or maybe the additive of NORA's inability to use magic and lack of a flamethrower would have made it worse. In any case, it is done, and we have a ways to get home before that storm hits again," she said, raising her left hand to hold the bridge of her nose. She felt a headache coming on underneath the lull of the morphine. If that's even possible, she thought. As if in answer to her earlier words, thunder rolled through the sky, alerting her to the fact that they had little time to pack up and get on their way before they'd be drenched. "Snow, I want you and NORA to help put up the medical tent before you leave. I have things to discuss with my squadron," she said, turning away at the end to walk towards her second-in-command.

Snow nodded his head at her back as went and walked over to the tent with NORA following to begin its takedown. Fang and Vanille stayed put, both lacking the energy to do much else. The elder of the two put an arm around the younger, providing and gathering strength from the gesture. Vanille drooped even more, beyond exhaustion. "We'll hitch a ride with Light," Fang said, answering Vanille's unspoken question of how they would get back. The latter nodded her head, barely, and the two stayed like that in a sort of daze as soldiers moved around, helping Snow and NORA with the tent, loading supplies back into their small airship. Passage of time was unnoted by everyone, things moving in a sort of blur. It was as if it had no meaning after such an awful day.

When Lightning returned to the two Pulsians, it could have been minutes or simply a few moments. They regarded her silently, both notcing how worn the soldier was. Despite having reverted back to the colder, less feeling Lightning, even she was unable to suppress such an obvious thing as bone-deep weariness. One would only notice it if they had known the elder Farron a long time - her shoulders were sagged slightly, her movements less fluid, her eyes more worn. Fang distantly wondered why she hadn't brought up their talk yet. More thunder called all three's attention to the dark sky, all sunlight just about gone as night began settling in comfortably in place of the evening. In the companionable silence that followed for a seemingly interminable time, it was Lightning who spoke first.

"How did you two get here?" she asked, voice hoarse. Fang sighed, not wanting to share that just yet. It would have to wait until their talk. "I'll tell ya later, Light," Fang said, hoping she wouldn't demand it now. The soldier merely blinked in answer. "I suppose that means of travel is unavailable at this time and you're looking for a ride?" she asked next, regarding Fang passively. Fang nodded, thankful to Lady Luck for her generosity. Lightning stood there for a moment longer before heading towards her velocycle, Fang knowing that was her answer. She picked up Vanille, having fallen asleep standing up, and proceeded in Lightning's wake.

* * *

They arrived back just in time for the rain to start again. On the way, Lightning had called Amodar from her wireless to report. He had been upset with her for getting injured (though for all the right reasons, he really cared for his subordinates) and gave her a mandatory 72 hour leave to recuperate and orders to see if she could find out why healing magic hadn't worked. Lightning only managed to acquiesce, the morphine having dragged her further into its lulling effects.

She parked her velocyle in her nearby carport-type thing. Fang gingerly hopped down with Vanille in her arms and ran towards the house in the sprinkling rain. Lightning stayed for a moment longer, quietly enjoying the sound of the rain and wondering at the tickle in the corner of her mind. She dismissed it and walked slowly to the front door, luxuriating in the feel of the cool water on her hot skin. Her bandage felt stifling, but knew better than to take it off despite how much she wanted to cleanse the lacerations with the cool, cool rain.

Entering the doorway, she paused as she saw the silhouette of her sister. Serah was standing a few feet away, one arm held in the other. She slowly walked forward when Lightning paused, and stared at Lightning in the dim light provided by the open door. Serah reached out her hand to grasp Lightning's bandaged arm, holding it tenderly, gently. Lightning suddenly felt guilty for becoming her old self again - Serah deserved better than that. The younger Farron was now grasping Lightning's arm with both hands, her shoulders shaking slightly. Lightning realized she was crying. "Oh, Claire," Serah whispered, burrowing her face in Lightning's shoulder, hands still clutching her arm. Lightning gave in - _She's not Fang, only my sister_ - and held Serah with her good arm, holding her close.

"Serah, I'm sorry," Lightning whispered back, repeating the very words she had said when Serah had returned to her after Cocoon had been saved. Serah didn't say anything in return, beginning to sob. She abandoned her hold on Lightning's arm and instead wrapped herself around her sister, clasping tightly. Lightning felt her throat choke up with emotion and tried very hard not to cry. Wrapping her bandaged arm around Serah as well, Lightning began stroking Serah's hair. It was an act she had not done in many years. For many minutes, Serah continued to cry, the only other sound that could be heard was the rain picking up in intensity outside.

When Serah at last could halt her tears, she looked up at her sister. Lightning gazed right back, each conveying what they wanted to say without words. After a few moments, Serah burrowed her head back into Light's shoulder and they just held each other, something they had neglected for far too long. Neither had anymore to say.

* * *

_A/N: Man, this took for_ever -_ I've been so distracted it's ridiculous :P I'd have made it longer, but, I decided it just wouldn't work out to go any further for this chapter. Besides, I was listening to _Promised Eternity _from the game while I wrote the part between Light and Serah. *sniffle* I just love that song. _


	8. Partial Truths

_A/N: Many apologies for the long absence - got seriously distracted and my focus became all shot to hell. Anyway, with this chapter I think I jumped between different writing styles alot. Don't ask me how, but it just happened. Anyone else get the feeling that my writing is..stilted? Staunched? Stagnated? Like, it's focused solely on getting from Point A to Point B (Such-and-such goes here and does this, other such-and-such comes with and speaks, such-and-such runs off to do something else). Like it's more retelling of events instead of a story. Bah. I don't know, maybe I'm just being overcritical. Tell me what you think. Also, I don't think I like this chapter very much - everything after the first part gave me hell. As a warning, there's some strong language from Fang during the first part. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with._

Partial Truths

Fang was already waiting in the kitchen, more tea and blankets already prepared. Gazing into those emerald eyes as she took her seat, Lightning noticed a certain..vulnerability about the warrior that hadn't been there since the assault on Orphan. The battle beforehand in the Springs had surely taken its toll on her, but it was more of an emotional than physical susceptibility. They gazed into each other's eyes endlessly, each seeking, probing, searching. A flash of lightning blazed through the sky, illuminating the dim, dismal kitchen for a split second. It reminded Lightning of the inscription on her gunblade and the words she had spoken to Hope while under Palumpolum. _"Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys." _

How true, she thought.

At last diverting her gaze from Fang, Lightning took a sip of her tea, gazing down into its steamy, reflective surface. Her thoughts wandered down through her time as a l'cie - constantly fighting, rarely finding a time to catch their breath, the breathtaking experience of seeing Gran Pulse for the first time. In a way, she missed it. She began absentmindedly running her bandaged fingers along the rim of her teacup, lost in the time of living in the moment. Fang was still looking at her, weary eyes unable to look away. The Pulsian native wanted her answers, yes, but she wondered just how much luck she'd have with getting them out of the recently-reverted soldier. Sure she'd had _some_ difficulty pulling things out of the stubborn woman while on Gran Pulse as l'cie, but it was different then. The two had still been learning each other, constantly probing the other in their own way. Now, after having shared themselves to near completion, it would be like trying to wrestle a herd of King Behemoths barehanded. Absolutely impossible, some would say. Fang was of the belief that just about anything is possible if you know how to work it right.

_Right, sounds like some awful sex joke._ Fang sighed, deciding it was time to start the shindig. It would be like a dance of words and wits instead of a ludicrous bash of dirty dancing, loud music, and..drunkeness. "Light," she began, pulling the soldier's attention, "aren'tcha gettin' tired of staring into that boring old cup yet?" Lightning blinked at her, face unreadable. "No," she responded. "Tell me something, Fang. Where did you get that parchment? And don't try to lie to me. I know how messy you are, and there was nothing out of place in the Library."

_So she's jumpin' right in, is she? Oh, it is on, Sunshine. _Fang blew out her breath and ran her hand through her hair. "Well, see, that's the thing. I didn't have to search for it because I already knew where to look."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at this, a flash of anger broiling in her eyes. "Really? And, pray tell, just how did you know?"

Fang scowled, a near terrifying thing on her face. "Now don't you go thinkin' I knew all along about your damned ancestry. Didja ever stop ta think that maybe, just maybe, I thought things through first before chargin' through that old-as-Etro building to find any shred of your lost history? I know I'm reckless, but for damn's sake, I know when to cool it."

Lightning's features smoothed back into her unreadable mask, her voice resuming its cold, calculating edge. "What was I _supposed_ to think, Fang? You call me up sounding almost panicked with news that was so shocking I couldn't absorb it at first, only to find afterward that your normal habits were ignored. Where in fact _did_ you find it?"

Fang suppressed the urge to growl at her. "In the Library. Yeah yeah, I know there weren't no bloody signs of my presence, but tha's because _you_ weren't searchin' in the right places! There's this thing called a _thorough investigation_, Lightnin', I'm sure you've heard of it."

A twitch of the eye signaled a minor breakthrough in that expressionless face, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come. Lightning set her cup down, folding her hands together in front of her on the counter. She stared at Fang and nodded for the huntress to continue. Fang took a deep breath to calm herself before lacing her own hands in front of her face, elbows resting on the counter. "I was in the basement, with all the original Gran Pulse archives. If you don't know 'bout it by now, I suspect your Cocoon mates in charge of renovating that particular buildin' never thought of it, or just didn't find it. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they skipped over it entirely. Anyway," she went on, noticing another twitch of Lightning's eye, "I went down there because I figured if you couldn't find anything using Cocoon's history, then maybe there'd be something from my history. I admit it was a long shot, but the naggin' feeling that I'd find something wouldn't go away, so I went and searched for a bit until I found that parchment." What she didn't say, however, was how that _nagging feeling_ was in the voice of a rather **hated**, thought-to-be-dead adversary. _Maybe I'm finally losin' my marbles._

Lightning searched Fang's eyes for a moment, blinked, then picked her teacup up again. "Where's the basement entrance?"

"Kinda buried in the ground outside, near the far tree. Why, ya gonna check up on my story, _dearest?"_

"No, I believe you. I just want to continue searching through the records to see if there's anything more on my family. What little that was on that parchment wasn't enough to cover all generations."

Fang put her head in her hands. _Right, insult the bull before ya grab the horns._ She shook her head, looking back up at her love. "Now that that's outta the way, it's my turn," she said, mentally squaring herself for the coming battle. Lightning continued sipping her tea, looking at Fang with that _damned_ unreachable face. Taking yet another deep breath to calm herself, Fang launched her question. "Right, now where do you get off being such a tight ass again? There's no reason anymore - Serah's back safe and sound, Cocoon's bloody well saved by _me _and _Vanille_ no less, and everythin's peachy."

Lightning wrapped both hands around her cup. "That's none of your business."

Fang started seeing red. "None of my business? None of my fucking business? Where-"

"Yes," Lightning interrupted, azure eyes suddenly burning, "it's none of your business. Don't act like you own me, Fang. There was, and always will be, more reasons for this other than needing to protect Serah. You wouldn't understand."

"_Own you_? What the bleeding hell put _that_ stupid notion in your head? Why would you even _think_ it? I wouldn't _dream_ of tryin' to own you, Light, not now, not **evar.**And what makes you think I wouldn't understand? I'm your fucking _mate, partner,_ _**lover**_ - do ya think I'll not believe ya, brush ya aside, trample you under my feet and have a good laugh over it? I _love_ you, Lightning, whether you see it or not, I bloody **love** your stubborn ass!"

Lightning sat calmy through the tirade, her eyes never once leaving Fang's enraged emeralds. It only made Fang angrier.

"Is there something _wrong_ with that? Do ya want me to just shut me mouth and pretend I don't _care_ about you and just put up with your feeble excuses for being such a _cold hearted __**bitch**_ all over again - " Fang stopped abruptly when Lightning closed her eyes and sighed. Muttering more curses under her breath, Fang got off the bar stool and walked over to Lightning. She reached down and grabbed her hand, brushing gentle fingers over the bandaged wound. "Why won't you just let me in? I can help ya, love, if you'll only let me."

Lightning opened her eyes and looked up, a simmer of pain deep within that showed for a moment before the wall shot up again. _Damn it, I was so close!_ Fang was beginning to curse Lady Luck when she felt another hand on top of hers. "You can't help me, not with this," Lightning said, voice quiet. "It's something I have to deal with on my own. I know you only want to help, but it won't work. I love you too, Fang, I really do - just, please, don't ask me anymore about this." Fang sighed, her face sad. "If your arm wasn't so nasty and healin' I'd sock ya a new one for being such a stubborn hardass again," she joked, brushing Lightning's hair out of her eyes. The edge of Light's mouth turned up in an almost smile, hurting and warming the huntress. Time for question number two.

"Well, since you've made it clear you won't answer anymore of my questions on that topic, I have another to ask. What happened to you during the battle at the Springs? You disappeared and then came flyin' out of Etro knows where, only to land on your bad arm partially unconscious."

Lightning looked down. "I..got careless. After I discovered the oozes' vulnerability to fire, I charged through their ranks. That was my first mistake - my second came right after and was probably my most grievous. I underestimated them, thinking they were simple minded. Should have known better with monsters of _Gran_ Pulse." She looked towards the window on her right. "I worked my way around behind the first one that had emerged, the one that hurt my arm. I was planning to blindside it and catch it offguard. However, the smaller ones quickly gathered into a few larger groups and started knocking me around before I could, hence why I came flying in." She chuckled mirthlessly, shaking her head. "Good thing they had good aim or I'd have been done for."

Fang started to grow alarmed at Lightning's black humour, a thing the soldier had never before shown a liking for. But before she could continue to think on it, Lightning began speaking again, "My turn. That makes two questions for you, so I get to return the favor." Fang bit her tongue to suppress the protests that immediately arose. _Fair's fair._ She was expecting Lightning to slip into an accusing tone and manner, to throw words at her like precision strikes and glare inciminations through her blue, blue eyes. What she wasn't expecting was for Light look back down at their hands and begin tracing circles on Fang's. "What were you so upset over, when I called from the Library?" she asked, voice still quiet.

Damn it, she just _had_ to ask that one. Fang grimaced, recalling instantly the argument she'd had with Vanille. "I had an upsetting disagreement with Vanille, and before you ask anything else, I'd rather not get into that right now. Let's just say she did something I highly disapprove of - which is saying something - and thought I'd understand her _good reasons_ for it."

"Perhaps she was doing what she thought was right. Granted I don't know what she did, but knowing her, I'd bet on it. I think the two of you should sit down and calmly sort this out - it can only lead to estrangement. I should know; after neglecting Serah for so many years, it's a miracle she's still willing to try with me."

Fang felt her heart twist, those words so blatantly said in such an _emotionless_ voice tearing at her. Leave it to Light to be insightful while staying cold hearted. _Bloody soldier._ She shook her head, feeling a sudden urge to fidget. "What's question number two?"

"How did you get to the Springs?"

Fang groaned, bringing her hand to her face. "Hell, Light, you sure know how to drop those things like they're bombs." Lightning remained quiet, fingers still lightly tracing. "I'll tell ya, but on one condition," Fang continued, looking down meaningfully at the top of Lightning's head. She still didn't look up. Fang ground her teeth together. "Oi, Light's head - you mind turning up? No? Does that mean nobody's home?" She tapped on the soldier's head. "Helloooo, anybody there?" Lightning _still_ didn't look up. "Bah, _fine,_ you bloody twit." Fang began drumming her fingers in frustration atop the pink hair. "My condition is an ultimatum in and of itself - no breakings of it, yeah? Here it is: you cannot get angry with me, nor can you demand anymore questions about it right away. Is that clear?"

"I understand, Fang."

"So somebody _is_ there! And here I thought I was talkin' to a mesh of hair composed of surprisingly lifelike material."

No response.

"Right, well, seeing as how it's just a bloody well _conditional_ presence, I'll go ahead and say it." Fang took a deep breath, both for courage and calm. "I used my Eidolon, Bahamut, to fly Vanille and I out there."

The pale fingers ceased their movements on Fang's darker hand, frozen for a mere moment in time before they squeezed for a second moment in time, and before Fang could even blink, those fingers were gone and Lightning was standing on the other side of the island. Fang raised said hand to her face, as if it examine how it could have been dropped so quickly. Silence reigned until another bout of lightning flashed through the sky.

"I see."

That quiet, cold, demanding, inexplicably _accusing_ voice could have only come from Lightning. Fang leaned on the counter, rubbing her eyes. _Well, mission accomplished - you've had your little chat, minus a few things of course, and in the process you've managed to piss off royal ice bitch for the thousandth time today in spite of your all-encompassing _ultimatum_._ The sound of boots clacking on the tiled, then wooden, flooring announced to the huntress that Lightning was leaving, her only farewell being a promise of unfinished business. In an instant, Fang felt her age - all five hundred and twenty-one years of it. Sighing, she pushed away from the island and reached for the liquor cabinet, pulling out an entire bottle of Rum. Anger began to rise, bubbling slowly to surface as she gazed at the golden liquid.

"No one ever said it'd be rainbows and puppies, but all seven and bloody _hells_, what a mess," she muttered, popping the top off in another brilliant flash of light through the windows. Fang sat back down and faced the sliding doors, paying no mind to at all the remaining cups of tea. She took a long drink, eying the streaks of illumination now sporadically flashing every ten seconds or so. It brought to mind the qualities of her beloved: cruel, demanding, white-hot and blisteringly cold - there in one instant, gone the next. An infrequent blinking through the domain of clouds and vapor. Under the onslaught of her rage, she took many more long drinks.

In the darkening, violent storm, Fang sat alone in the pitch-black kitchen drowning her suffocating fury in a sea of alcohol, the liquor and storm her only company.

* * *

_One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two..._ Lightning was sitting on her bathroom counter, counting the number of diamonds in the pattern of the tiling. It was an action that had always helped calm her mind. _Seven, eight, nine..._ Another rumble of thunder, marking the billionth one she'd heard that day, tore her attention to the storm. "If it doesn't immediately pour, it rains for days," Lightning murmured to herself, recalling the words Vanille had said to her the first time the soldier had experienced a storm on Pulse. Remembering Vanille, however, brought thoughts of Fang, and thoughts of Fang brought thoughts of their 'chat.' _Four, five, six, seven..._ She didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think of the guilty look in Fang's eyes as she spoke of the basement in the Library, she didn't want to think of the twisting feeling of betrayal she had felt when she refused to tell Fang of her own dilemma, and she _especially_ didn't want to think of the very last thing Fang had said to her. _Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen..._

A single burst of brilliance split the sky open before the loudest bit of thunder yet crashed fiercely after, cutting off the electricity of the house. Sitting now in the darkness, Lightning distantly thought of the fascinating aspects of a storm - clouds condense with evaporated water and create rain, lightning comes to be when liquid and ice particles above freezing levels collide, thunder is birthed alongside the lightning yet lightning is seen first, the lightning we see is actually its return trip into the clouds, and so on and so forth. Storms had always intrigued her. _Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six... _

Lightning hopped down and walked back into the bedroom, stopping halfway in to stare out the window. That distant tickle returned, vying for her attention before flitting away yet again. It was starting to grate on her nerves. She turned away sharply towards the bed and mumbled half-hearted obscenities under her breath about the lack of light. Candles, where are the candles? She dug into the nightstand drawer on her side of the bed, cursing again when her injured arm began to throb from the abuse. The morphine had begun to wear off awhile ago. "Just can't catch a break," she growled, slamming the door shut and stalking to the other side to check Fang's. No luck there, either. Another growl of frustation issued from her throat before she went back to her side and began removing all her pouches and accessories. The pain was slowly fading from her injury, leaving an irritating warmth and dull ache. She resisted the want to flex the hand and threw herself back onto the sheets. She stared at the ceiling and began counting the flickering shadows. _One, two three..._

Countless minutes later, Lightning had still not fallen asleep. She was now on her side, facing away from the window and staring absentmindedly at the floor. Fang had come in a short while ago, smelling heavily of alcohol - rum, to be exact. She had swaggered on over to her side of the bed in her usual strut, not drunk in the slightest. _Always had an unimaginable tolerance._ Now she was sound asleep, face down with the pillow pressed against her head. Lightning didn't fool herself into thinking Fang had not known she was still awake - Fang knew everything about her sleeping habits. Lightning sighed and curled into herself, suppressing the need to fidget. The storm had weathered down some over the course of the night and was now just merely a continuous rainstorm. Frustrated, she gave up on trying to count _every_thing and just lied there, listening to the rain. _Pitpitpitpatsplatpitpitthunk..._ The sound began to relax her, and she eventually drifted to sleep.

* * *

_It was dark. Looking around, there was no light whatsoever. Just endless darkness. A young woman sat alone in the darkness, neither moving nor panicking. She was simply accepting of the environment, lost in contemplation. (_Who are you?)_. Was she Lightning, or was she Claire? She did not know. The only thing she did know was that she was trapped and the only way out was to think. _(Hello?)_. The young woman sat and thought, paying no attention to anything else. Her features were obscured, the only thing discernible was her approximate age. _(Hey! I'm talking to you!) _Still the young woman failed to become aware. The neverending darkness began to shift, molding itself. Now did the young woman finally look up, movements sharp and controlled as she stood up. Light burst through the oblivion; white-hot, painful, blinding light. She faced the light head on until the last moment, turning around for a split second until Lightning was staring at an older, twisted version of herself..._

Lightning gasped awake, disoriented and feeling.._off_. She had only a moment to realize she was no longer sleeping before excruciating pain seared up her entire arm. It took all her breath away, leaving her only able to seize up and writhe in pain. Her movements instantly woke Fang, who rolled-jumped off the side before leaping up, head whipping side to side in search of the danger. A strangled gargle from Lightning drew Fang's gaze to her, the huntress's eyes going wide the instant she spied Light. "_Holy..!_ Light!" Fang exclaimed before running to the side, hands hovering anxiously over the soldier as if unsure what to do. "What's wrong?"

Lightning continued writhing in pain, her teeth clenched painfully together to keep from biting her tongue off. Speaking was out of the question, but she knew without a doubt she needed the pain to _stop._ She ground her teeth harder and gargled again when another bolt of pain shot through her. "Arm, painkillers...bigpouch," she managed to get out before another wave hit her. Fang began ripping open all of Light's pouches, searching with a desperateness rarely seen. When she finally found the bottle, she ripped the cap off without twisting it (a feat possible only for the Pulsian's strength) and dumped half the contents onto the nightstand table. "How many?" she asked, looking at Lightning as she spasmed again. The answer came in the form of Lightning throwing her good arm to the pile, picking out two before throwing them into her mouth. Shuddering once, the pain began to slowly ebb and Lightning found herself completely drained of strength and will. Several minutes passed, the two women trapped in a sort of impasse as the painkillers worked through Lightning's system. After all the pain had gone, Lightning lied limply and listened as Fang put the pills back in the bottle and set it down. She drifted for a moment, letting the exhuastion take over until she felt a cool hand on her hot skin. She suddenly realized how _warm_ the room was.

"Light, you're..bleedin' through the bandage," Fang said, worry tinging her tone as she carefully inspected it. Lightning looked down and wished she hadn't. 'Bleeding' was an understatement - her whole arm was covered in blood, along with the sheets and blanket under that and part of her shirt. _That explains the lightheadedness._ "We need to get you to a doctor," Fang broke in, picking her up gingerly and making the way out of the room and downstairs. It was as if their issues and disagreements were gone. For once, Lightning was grateful for Fang's care-first-and-talk-later philosophy. She cradled her bloody arm and rested her feverish head on Fang's shoulder, fighting to stay awake and not fall into shock. "Hey, Light," Fang said, lifting her ever so slightly to get her attention, "did your medic guy back at the Springs give ya stitches?"

It took a minute for her thoughts to arrange themselves for her to answer. "No, he merely applied a medicant that has an adhesive mixed in that acts as makeshift stitches in the field - it's for soldiers who get cut deeply in the line of duty, such as on an assignment and away from complete medical care and need to continue on. He told me to return in the morning for actual stitches at the base."

Fang nodded, the movement felt through Lightning's head. "So, to your base then, yeah?" Without waiting for an answer, Fang gently placed Lightning in the passenger seat of the car in the garage and buckled her in. Walking over to the driver's side, she got in delicately to not shake the vehicle before starting it up and slowly backing up. "I know this is a medical emergency, but you don't have to drive like the old woman you are, Fang," Lightning joked, working hard to keep her eyes open. Thankfully, Fang knew full well about blood loss and shock, so she kept up the conversation. "Really? So ya think I'm old? Just 'cause I was crystal for five-hundred years doesn't mean it's my age, missy. I was frozen in time."

"Mm-hm. Then why are we going 30 down an 85?"

"Well it _is_ still raining, and the roads are thoroughly soaked. Ya know, mudslides an' all are completely possible, 'specially on Gran Pulse. I'm bein' a _good_, careful driver, unlike some people I know."

"You mean Vanille?"

"For starters, yeah - that girl gives me a damned heartattack everytime she drives. It's like she don't know the _meaning_ of 'yield' and 'do not enter.' You remember that one time we went down the _wrong side of the expressway_ during rush hour_?_ Etro, if I ever have to live through that again I'll spear an Adamantoise with a toothpick. Don't even get me started on Snow."

"I remember - you were about ready to tear her head off and you beat the crap out of the entire civilian section of the Guardian Corps while they tried to restrain you."

"Now _that_ was fun. Let me tell ya somethin', Sunshine. Ain't nothin' so fun as a good brawl to get the blood pumpin' and the adrenaline flowin'. You should let me come by the training classes again - I could teach your soft soldiers a few things."

"I'm sure you could, Fang. However, I'm not sure they'd appreciate that - I give them enough hell already and Amodar would be all for your help. I'd rather not have a mutiny on my hands."

"Pffft, mutiny. Your Cocoon lads don't know the first _thing_ about mutiny..." Fang quit speaking as the base came into view. She pulled up to the entrance, hopping out and scooping up Lightning before running inside. Lightning was slightly bewildered as to how she so swiftly managed to turn the car off, get out, shut the door, run to the other side, unbuckle her, pick her up, shut the door, lock it, and run inside. She didn't have time to think on it anymore, however, as she was suddenly sitting on a bed in the medical bay with Doctor Lya staring intently at her arm. Lightning blinked, disoriented all over again. The doctor began to peel off her bandage without speaking, focused on treating the malady as swiftly as possible. The sight was gruesome - the lacerations had swelled slightly and grew, which was what caused the heavy bleeding. They were slightly pulsating, blood still oozing out bit by bit.

Doctor Lya whistled lowly. "You're going to need a blood transplant after we get this cleaned and stitched up. I don't like wounds from unknown monsters."

Lightning almost asked how she knew how she got her injury, but then she saw her medical chart sitting open on the bed beside her. _Did I black out earlier?_ As the doctor began cleaning her arm of blood to begin disinfecting it, Lightning looked up at Fang standing nearby. They needed to find out what the hell that thing was they fought earlier that day and why her injury's unhealable. Staring into Fang's eyes, Lightning knew she was thinking the same thing.

* * *

_A/N #2: I had originally planned for Lightning to have control of the first part, but Fang quickly came along and stole the spotlight. Typical Fang :3_


	9. The Past That Haunts

_A/N: Here we are at chapter 9 after the new year. With this, I relinquish a secret or two and drop a couple of surprises ;P we return here to Serah and Vanille - about time too. I wonder if any of you have been thinking of what Vanille left Serah and my various other little breadcrumbs I've left. Anyway, I never actually thought I'd go into Vanille's story of her parents so (you'll know when you reach it). I just found myself halfway through it when I realized what I was doing, and by then I was already on a role so I just went with it. Enjoy the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it.

The Past That Haunts

_Impossible._

Serah stared down at the photograph Vanille had given her before leaving with Fang to the Springs. She had set it aside immediately, choosing instead to focus on cleaning the house and thinking furiously. A million things had swarmed her mind, demanding her immediate attention: the change in Lightning, the meaning of Vanille and Fang's arugment, her newly discovered ancestry. It had taken until the three women returned for everything to get sorted into a believable enough state. And then there had been Lightning - injured, distant, damp with rain. Seeing her sister in such a state had spurned Serah into action, dismissing their fragile relationship for a moment of caring, of love. The tears had come unbidden and without notice, flowing down her face as she held Lightning to her. Only a single thought had run through her mind - _I don't want to lose you again_ - at the sight of the thick bandage. Lightning's softly spoken words and warm embrace had only encouraged the tears.

After their moment, Lightning had brushed Serah's cheeks dry, wiping all traces of her tears away. The words Lightning had spoken made Serah want to weep all over again. Words the two just didn't say enough. Then before Serah could reply, Lightning had headed towards the kitchen, leaving Serah to head up to her bedroom. Moments after that, Serah had remembered what Vanille had given her and sought it out. At first glimpse she had sat down on her bed to get good lighting before really looking at it. Gazing at it in her hands now, she couldn't make herself believe what she was seeing.

_It's just not possible._

It was a very old, very worn photograph. Nearly colorless, frayed at the edges, and very delicate, the picture was hundreds of years old. Yet its occupants were painfully familiar and wholly unrecognizable at the same time. In it were two young women standing before a grassy plain. On the left, smiling shyly and warmly, was the shorter and what looked like the younger of the two, leaning into the embrace she was held in. On the right was the second woman. She was taller than the other and had one arm thrown lovingly around the other woman, the other hand messing with the younger's hair. Her expression was one of mischief, a sly grin and sparkle in her eyes the most noticeable things to any other person. But to Serah, the whole thing was so surreal, so impossible, she just couldn't grasp it.

The two looked exactly like herself and Lightning.

There were minor differences, clearly evident despite being near colourless. Their hair colour was a deeper shade of pink and shining with a silver gleam in the sunlight, their eyes a hard gray instead of deep crystalline blue. The clothing was different also, of course, but yet..achingly familiar. Hands trembling, Serah could only begin to guess how old the photograph was. Almost a thousand years? More than that? It was difficult to tell. By its feel and look it was doubly older than the old photograph of Fang and Vanille still in the old orphanage. And yet it was impossible for it to be that old - there simply weren't cameras of any sort or _any_ kind of technology that long ago..right?

Serah took a deep breath and looked up at her ceiling, biting on the inside of her lower lip in thought. It just wasn't possible, and yet there it was. A centuries old photograph of two people who were near identical to herself and Lightning. Feeling lightheaded and dizzy, Serah set the picture down delicately on her bed and stood up on shaky legs. She felt almost frantic as she slowly walked to her door, her pace gaining momentum as she made her way to Vanille's bedroom. Her burning, panicked desire to know where the sprightly young woman had found it was searing through Serah as her hand hovered over the doorknob to the room of the youngest Pulsian, suddenly hesitant. She knew Vanille was asleep - she had seen Fang carrying her up here before. _Should I wake her? She looked awfully exhausted. Maybe I need to return in the morning? No, that's too late..I need to know now!_

Taking a deep breath for courage, Serah slowly turned the knob and carefully pushed the door open. The room was completely dark, save for what little light flowed through the open curtains on the window. Vanille was sleeping deeply on the bed in the middle of the room, lost in her dreams. Serah bit her lip again as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, hesitant once more. She slowly tiptoed to the bed, praying for the storm to mask the sounds of her footsteps. Standing by the bed now, she could see the peaceful expression on Vanille's face. _I really shouldn't wake her..._ Regretting the whole decision to come in here, she stood immobolized. On the one hand, she burned to know how Vanille had gotten the photograph. On the other, she really didn't want to wake the poor girl up to do it. But the ravenous curiosity got the better of her, and before she could do anything, her hand reached out of its own volition to shake Vanille's shoulder.

Vanille mumbled incoherently for a few moments before slowly opening her eyes, turning to look at who had woken her. "Serah?" she asked, voice low and almost hoarse. "What are you doing here?"

Serah felt horrible for waking Vanille up and wanted to just leave her to her rest, but her mouth opened of its own accord. "Do you have a minute, Vanille?" _Pffft, does she have a minute..you woke her up!_

Vanille rolled over and blinked sleepily at the younger Farron. "Of course. What do you need, Serah?"

Serah sat down on the edge of bed, hands picking nervously at themselves. "Well," she started, voice quiet and unsure, "I wanted to ask you something. I'm sorry for waking you up, but it just couldn't wait."

Vanille blinked again, slowly coming awake. "That's alright. It must be important if you had to come in here now." She sat up and rubbed her eyes before turning her full attention to Serah. "What did you need to ask?"

Serah turned away and began messing with her engagement necklace. _Now or never._ "Vanille, where did you get that photograph?" she finally asked, face still turned away.

Vanille was still and quiet next to her for many moments. Serah was afraid she'd crossed some invisible line with the young woman, and was about to apologize profusely and leave before Vanille sighed. "I should have known you'd ask about it," she mumbled, clearly to herself before getting up and sitting directly next to Serah. She turned on the bedside lamp to bathe the room in its warm glow. Serah watched nervously as Vanille ran her hands through her hair before speaking again. "Vanille? I-is it..alright that I..asked?"

Vanille smiled at her and grasped her hands. "Yes. I had just forgotten I'd given it you, what with..Fang and the battle at the Springs." Her face fell for a moment at the mention of Fang before brightening almost painfully. "This morning I overheard Lightning almost begging Fang to research some of the Farron roots while she was working. Fang hadn't wanted to at first, but the longer she refused the more desperate Lightning became." A sad smile graced her face. "It was frightening to hear such a tone come from your sister, Serah. I'd never heard anything of the sort before, and yet I found myself responding to it. My heart went out to Lightning, wishing I could help her. But I could think of nothing I could do.

"After they had left it finally occurred to me: a lone house a long ways from Oerba, very old even in my time. Fang and I had discovered it when we were children and it became our little getaway - it was perfect for us. Not too big and not too small, it was a cozy little thing built out of very durable materials. There was still furniture inside, but not a whole lot. We didn't know what to make of it at first, but the more we went there, the more it started to feel like a second home." Vanille looked suddenly anxious. "On our fourth trip there we started looking through what was left. Valuables and sentimental objects were everywhere, left behind by whoever had lived there. While looking through the main bedroom in the back, I found a fake floorboard. Fang was busy in the kitchen looking for useful cooking utensils. She had told me not to go through anything that looked important without her, but I couldn't stop myself from prying the board away."

She fell silent, hands absently gripping Serah's as Vanille lost herself in the memory. Serah looked on with concern as those bright eyes filled with tears. "Vanille?"

"I'm sorry. It's just.." Vanille wiped her tears away, her expression pained. "The board came away easily in my hands," she continued, staring down at her lap. "Almost as if it had been waiting for someone to come along and take it. Underneath there was a large compartment filled to the brim with various things: leatherbound books, a few weapons here and there, tiny worn statues carved with an expert eye - just to name a few. What caught my eye, though, was that photograph. It wasn't as worn and faded as it is now - in fact, just by looking at it you could tell it was really beautiful in its time. The colours were vibrant and the details sharp yet not overwhelming. A masterpice, really. Anyway, what caught my eye was the occupants of the picture. The two looked so warm, inviting, and..homely, that I couldn't help but think of my parents." She paused for a moment, before adding, almost as if it was an afterthought, "They died when I was only five, you know, from an ambush of Cocoon soldiers on the road home from a hunt. I'd never felt so abandoned in my life."

Serah, alarmed and concerned for her friend, pulled Vanille into a hug as she started to cry. She sobbed into Serah's shoulder, the pain of her parent's death surfacing once more with the telling of her story. "I..I felt so alone, Serah, even amongst the other children at the orphanage," Vanille continued, her sobs making her near incoherent. "I wanted desperately to feel something else aside from grief, to stop the feeling that I was slowly dying inside. The adults who ran the orphange were enraged at how my parents died, and it showed whenever they tended to me with their tenderness tempered with righteous anger. They talked amongst themselves at night whenever they thought we were all alseep, cursing Cocoon and saying that we should take away mothers and fathers from _their_ children in retaliation. Their words confused me and only added to my pain - I couldn't even think of inflicting that sort of pain on another child like myself. It just wasn't natural. I couldn't understand the anger, the hatred, or why my parents had to die. I _wanted_ to feel it too, Serah, I really did - anything to stop the pain. But I just couldn't. I couldn't make myself hate Cocoon and what its people had done to me."

"Vanille.."

Vanille pulled away from Serah, wiping her eyes. She looked up at Serah and smiled, even as more tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. "It's okay Serah - I finally found closure through Fang. She arrived a week or so after me, filled with the anger and hate I so fiercely wanted. We gravitated towards each other immediately, finding in each the sibling we never had. I managed to quell her rage and she took my pain away." She took a deep breath and calmed her breathing, turning away from Serah. "Sorry, I didn't mean to break down on you like that. Back to the real story now." She cleared her throat and turned back to the youngest Farron, eyes determined. "I didn't get to study the photograph for very long. Fang came in a few minutes after I had found it and took it from my hands as I was lost in remembering my parents. She stared at it long and hard before tossing it back into the compartment and throwing the board back on top it. Her hard tug on my arm was what brought me back from my memories, her push to get us away alarming. When I asked her why were leaving, she wouldn't say anything, only made me promise I'd never return. Ever."

Something clicked in Serah's mind as Vanille finished her story. "So if that's where the photograph was left, and you went back to get it today, then that means.."

Vanille bit her lip and nodded. "That's what Fang was so upset about today when I returned. I had never understood why she never wanted me to return there, and I still don't. Lightning's fervent pleas drove me to break my promise, to help, if only to get another look at that photograph again, I'll admit. It was only a half-remembered thing, fuzzy and not very discernible at all. Only the colours stood out in my memory. I certainly hadn't expected to run into Fang on my way into the house, but..what's done is done." She deflated suddenly with relief, as if the telling had taken tremendous effort.

Serah's mind was going into overdrive processing what she had just told been told. _This can't be a coincidence - the day Fang has news of our ancestry Vanille returns with an extremely old photograph of two people that look almost exactly like you and and Lightning. Fang knows more than she's let on.._ A sudden thought jumped at Serah. "Vanille, you returned when you were raining and yet you were dry when you got back. How did you manage that if the house is so far away?"

Vanille fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. She pressed her two pointer fingers together nervously for a few minutes before responding, "Heh, well..I used Hecatoncheir, my Eidolon, to travel under the earth."

Serah stared, processing the information slowly. "But..I thought the use of the Eidolons was lost with the brands."

"Erm, well, um, you see.." Vanille twisted to face her again. "I don't know if Fang's told Lightning yet, but, we can ah..we can use our Eidolons again. At least, Fang and I can," she added quickly, seeing Serah's eyes widen with disbelief. She hurried on, practically firing the information at the youngest Farron. "I don't know how or why, but the other day Fang and I were out at the Steppes hunting and we came across this huge group of behemoths in hibernation that didn't take too kindly to our intrusion and so they all attacked at once and we were sorely outnumbered and overpowered and we thought we were going to die but then I felt like my body was on fire and Fang's did too and then Bahamut and Hecatoncheir appeared and beat them all and Fang didn't know what had happened so we promised we would keep it quiet for as long as possible because it could have only been a temporary thing and she didn't want to cause alarm or panic or hope in the others." She took a huge gulp of air, replenishing the oxygen she had lost in her spew of words.

Serah blinked rapidly and tilted her head to the side. "It seems Fang has a lot of secrets," she mused, looking at Vanille curiously. Vanille sighed and giggled. "It seems she does," she agreed, listening to the rain die down outside. The two sat in a comfortable silence before Vanille involuntarily broke it with a long yawn. Serah glanced at the clock and noticed over an hour had passed. "Oh! I'm so sorry, it's so late and I've kept you up! See you tomorrow, Vanille," she exclaimed, he jumping up and heading towards the door. Vanille waved at her as she opened the door and stepped back into the hallway. The light under the door dissipated as Vanille turned out the light and went back to sleep. Serah slowly returned to her own room, noting that the hallway smelled slightly of alcohol, as if someone heavily intoxicated had passed by recently. She shook her head and continued through her door, throwing herself upon her bed to reflect on the day.

~.~

Serah startled awake at the sound of persistent knocking upon the front door downstairs, hard pounds that reverberated through to the upstairs. She scratched her eye and glanced at the clock. _I fell asleep.._ She stumbled out of bed, wondering where Lightning and Fang could possibly be to ignore whoever was at the door. "You'd expect they would be down there threatening whoever it is for interrupting their late night romping," she mumbled to herself as she sleepily descended the stairs, flicking on lights as she went. The storm was still going, if much gentler now. Seeing the empty living room and still no sign of her sister or her girlfriend, Serah blew out her breath in frustration. _Where could they be?_ She stalked to the door and lazily unlocked it as the pounding continued. "I'm right here, you don't have to...keep..." the words on her lips died as she swung the door open.

Standing in the doorway completely soaked was a woman taller than Serah herself, dressed in a dark gray vest, two long black armsleeves, black shorts, and a huge black cloak. She was outfitted with many assortments of gadgets, weapons, and strange containers at her waist and wrapped from her right shoulder to her left hip. A long spear was attched to her back, the wicked tip of a large blade gleaming under the light. Hair the colour of deep pink that seemed to shift between silver and white. Eyes hard, cold, and matching the hue of a deep gray stone. A scar ran over the left eye from top to bottom.

It was the older woman from the photograph.

Serah gaped at her in complete astonishment, her mind refusing to believe her eyes. _This can't be real..this just can't be happening. I'm still asleep, having a crazy dream, and will wake up very soon._ She stopped breathing when the stranger opened her mouth and spoke, voice huskier and yet more feminine than Lightning's.

"Hello, Serah."

It sounded so familiar, so foreign. Serah tried to speak, but she fell forward as her vision darkened and her legs suddenly felt too weak to support her weight. Her mind could think only of Claire as shock overwhelmed her and collapsed into the stranger's arms.


	10. Revelations

_A/N: So sorry this took awhile to get out. The past 9-ish days have been uber stressful, my dog was attacked by a pittbull (in my own backyard no less), and I think I have a stress fracture in my foot. It never fails to astound me how everything can be fine in life and then _BAM!_ 500 million things at once happen and you're left reeling in the wake. Astounding, simply astounding. Anyway, this chapter reveals a good portion of the main plot, and, while it's not as long as I wanted it to be, my brain stopped working so to save you a mostly good chapter with a bunch of crap at the end, I just simply stopped it at a good place. I hope you enjoy it! Really, I do :D Many thanks for the kind reviews :3 you guys are too good to me! *huge hug for all* Also! The pronunciation of the mystery woman will be at the bottom so as not to spoil it :P _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

Revelations

Vanille awoke slowly to the sound of a dull pounding from far away. Still mostly asleep, she rolled over and curled into the warm blankets, dismissing it as the storm. She sank back into a doze as Serah left her room to go check on it, Fang and Lightning curiously silent. After a few minutes Vanille sighed happily as Serah's quiet shuffle was heard going down the stairs and crossing to the door, the insistent noise stopping soon after. Another minute or so passed before a _thunk_ was heard, followed by a muffled curse. _Mm, wonder that was - maybe Serah hurt herself..._ Vanille let herself drift back into a doze again before strong, quick footsteps drew her away from it again. The measured steps and deep _click-click-clack-click_ sounded like Lightning's footsteps. Vanille, finally giving up on sleeping with all the noise, slowly thought of the Lightning-sounding steps.

Lightning is supposed to be here upstairs with Fang.

The footsteps are coming from downstairs.

Vanille hadn't heard Lightning pass her room.

Serah had gone down the stairs and to where the front door was supposed to be.

A _thunk_ had been heard not too long ago, akin to the sound of a body falling.

Only one pair of footsteps could be heard.

Suddenly dawning upon her, Vanille shot up from her bed with alarm. _Someone's in the house - and probably hurt Serah getting in!_ She shot across her room and flung the door open, leaving her weapon by her bed. Any thought of stealth was lost upon the young Pulsian as she thundered down the stairs two steps at a time, jumping the last four and landing with a spring, turning to face the intruder in the living room with every intent of murder -

Only to find Lightning looking at her, amused, from beside the couch.

Only, it wasn't Lightning.

But it was.

Vanille squeaked and covered her mouth with both hands, realizing with a start that the woman looked exactly like the one from the photograph. The woman spoke, a smirk upon her face and mirth in her tone.

"You must be Vanille."

That voice - husky, deep, yet so _feminine_ and..Lightning-like and so _un_Lightning-like. It made Vanille's legs quiver with the power it held. _Oh dear..I must have hit my head on the way down._ She took note of the strange woman's garb, noticing with anxiety and curiosity the tall, long-bladed spear strapped to the woman's back. _That blade alone is nearly half my size!_ She gulped at the thought of the woman skewering some helpless behemoth - _that woman could terrify _anything - with extreme ease and having a good time of it. _Focus!_ She shook her head and looked again at the woman's face. She was still smirking, arms folded gainst her chest, balancing on one leg as her other was crossed at the ankle of the balancing leg, the toe end of a dark boot resting against the floor. Vanille held her chin up high, intimidated and intrigued by the exotic stranger who looked near exactly like a certain soldier she knew.

"That's me - who are you?" she asked as she slowly walked towards the couch, curiosity overpowering alarm. The woman chuckled, glancing down as she said, "Your friend might want to be awake first before I say anything." Confused, Vanille looked down and gargle-squeaked at the sight of an unconscious Serah resting on the soft cushions of the couch. The woman continued speaking as Vanille ran around to Serah's side, grasping her hand and gazing worriedly down at the peaceful face.

"She fainted the moment she saw me. I can't say I really blame her, but it makes things a little more complicated than I'd like."

Vanille tore her gaze away from Serah to gaze at the woman in astonishment. She noticed as she did a long scar on the woman's left eye. _That looks viscious..is she blind in one eye?_ "Complicated? What are you talking about?"

The woman drummed the fingers of one hand against her arm before replying. "If she fainted at just the sight of me, she will probably not listen to anything I have to say when she comes to. I can only imagine how her sister will react to me." Her tone was still amused, faintly curious and not at all worried. At the thought of Lightning, Vanille suddenly remembered Lightning and Fang were supposed to be upstairs - and yet they _still_ hadn't come down. _What are they _doing _up there? Each other?_ Just as she was about to scream for the two to come down, the woman spoke again.

"Before you scream your head off, Lightning and Fang are not here. They left a little while ago in a bit of a hurry."

Vanille whipped around to face the woman again. "What?" Suddenly worried, she scrambled to stand and raced towards the stairs again, clambering over two to three at once and sprinting down the hall to Fang and Lightning's shared room. She flung the door open and flipped the light switch, the sight of an angry pool of blood on the bed and on the floor beside it becoming her instant focus point. It made her stomach clench. She gasped and took a step back, noticing the pool was on Lightning's side of the bed. _Her arm..something must have happened with her injury!_ Vanille's eyes widened and she dashed back down the hall and stairs again, this time leaping half of the steps all together. When she landed, the woman was now struggling to contain laughter, holding her gut with both hands. The sight stopped Vanille in her tracks, bewildered as to what was causing it.

"You..you sure are full of energy, aren't you?" the woman chuckled out, still fighting the urge to laugh. Vanille's cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. She huffed out her breath and made herself deliberately walk slowly back to her place at Serah's side. It suddenly occurred to her that this woman acted _a lot_ like Fang. The smirking, the laughing at Vanille's antics - even the postures.

The woman broke her thoughts again by clearing her voice. "I suspect the two went to a medical facility of some sort - that arm of Lightning's didn't look so good. They'll probably return in awhile."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking - how do you know our names?" _I wish I knew her name..maybe I'll just call her Spark? Clarice? Electricity? _

"Mm, that'll have to wait as well."

Vanille blew out her breath in frustration. "And just how do I know I can trust you? You come to our house late at night in the middle of a _storm_ and make poor Serah pass out from shock! I don't care how much you look like Lightning, I want your name and reason for being here!"

Another chuckle from the woman only made Vanille bristle. "Patience, young one. Serah should wake up soon."

As if on cue, the youngest Farron began to stir. Vanille looked down at her, running her fingers through Serah's hair.

"Vanille?" she mumbled, slowly blinking her eyes awake. Her vision was blurry at first, coming into focus slowly until she could completely make out a pouting Vanille hovering near her face. The young Pulsian's expression broke into a happy smile, however, at the sight of Serah awakening. She tugged her up, pulling the bewildered Serah into a happy hug. "Serah! You're okay!" Vanille exclaimed, beginning to squeeze all the air from Serah's lungs. _Can't..breathe!_ Struggling to not suffocate, Serah awkwardly patted Vanille on the head and wheezed, "Vanille..less..squeeze...pleeaase!"

Vanille instantly retracted her hug of doom and looked sheepish. Serah immediately sucked in a large gulp of air to replenish her oxygen supply. "Oops..my bad - you okay, Serah?" Vanille inquired, scratching her cheek nervously. Serah smiled reassuringly and was about to reply before a voice cut in.

"Welcome back to the land of the awake, Serah."

Serah finally noticed the tall stranger standing by the armrest of the couch. She blinked rapidly, suddenly remembering what had happened before passing out. _So I'm not dreaming after all._ The woman was smiling, amused, as she nonchalantly leaned back on the loveseat not far behind her, crossing her legs and arms. Serah suddenly noticed she was only wearing a tank top similar to Fang's underneath the gray vest. "Aren't you cold?" she blurted upon her observation, coloring slightly at the stranger's immediate laugh. _Great..she's like Fang and Lightning in one!_ Huffing, Serah crossed her arms and chose the first, unembarrassing sentence from the tip of her mind. "If you're going to laugh at me, you could at least tell us your name," she mumbled.

The woman, still chuckling, slowly let the mirth die away before assuming a more thoughtful expression. She moved over to the actual seat behind her and sat before responding, recrossing her legs. "I've been called many things over the course of time..but you may call me *Pyres."

Vanille tilted her head to the side, finger pressed to cheek. "Pyres?"

Pyres's gaze stony gaze flickered over to the inquisitive woman. "Yes. Pyres."

Vanille didn't move from her position, nor did she look away. "Why Pyres?"

Serah, seeing Pyres raise an eyebrow, chose to intervene. "I think it's a nice name," she interjected before Vanille could ask another question. "As interesting as it is, though, there are more interesting things to discuss here - such as what your purpose is here, Pyres."

Pyres looked back at Serah, tapping her chin. "Smart. Good to see the family genes are still going strong."

The casually stated comment floored Serah. "Pardon?" she squeaked. Pyres continued gazing thoughtfully at her, finger tapping at a slowing pace. "You've noticed by now just how much your sister and I look alike, yes?" she asked, stony gaze unreadable. Serah swallowed nervously before nodding, glancing over at Vanille in fearful anticipation. "The reason," Pyres continued, "is because we are related, Serah. You, me, Lightning - all part of the same, exact bloodline." Serah stared, unable to respond. Her mouth opened and closed very slowly in an attempt to say something, but her mind was in too much shock. Thankfully, Pyres noticed her inability to speak and resumed her explanation. "I am one of your ancestors, so to speak, from many years ago - before the Fall, I mean."

_What?_ Vanille's face scrunched in confusion. "The Fall? What is that?"

"The Fall was when civilzation as we knew it ended and humankind had to start anew. A sort of apocalypse, you could say. I expect you haven't heard of it before now because most of the evidence of advanced societies and technologies disappeared in the Fall." A near wistful look overtook Pyres. "But that is a story I will have to return to at a later time. At this moment, there are more pressing matters."

Silence fell when Pyres finished speaking. Rain was still falling outside, the steady rhythym of its droplets a soothing cadence. A clock ticked away somewhere in the room, counting down the time. The muted breaths of all three women were barely audible. Serah stared, unseeing, at Pyres. Vanille clasped her hands and bit her lip, deep in thought. Pyres sat comfortably, calmly awaiting the coming storm in whatever form it would take.

It built up with Vanille.

"Wait!" she burst out, eyes wide. "If you're her ancestor, and from many years ago, that must mean.."

Pyres dipped her head. "That I am a former l'cie; you are correct, Vanille." She began bouncing her foot. "I've been in more than just one crystal stasis - they weren't exactly lying when they said 'eternal life.' The only stipulation is that your life is only how long the fal'cie want it to be. So long as you are useful you shall live many years. However, with most of the fal'cie now gone, the odds of more l'cie being created are very low - there weren't that many left, either, when this century's band of l'cie overthrew the fal'cie. I expect I am probably the only one that survived my last crystal stasis to this time."

Serah came back to earth, eyes focusing on Pyres's hard gray orbs. "Most fal'cie? All of them were destroyed with the death of Orphan - there aren't any left," she stated, eying Pyres warily. The strange woman chuckled without humour, a dark look in her eyes. She gazed solemnly back at Serah as she replied, "All the ones you knew of, perhaps. There is one that is still around, brought back by the sudden deaths of so many fellow fal'cie. A few more, at the most, are probably out there as well. I don't know for sure. The only certain thing is that one fal'cie is back, and it is one that the worlds are better off without."

"Which fal'cie? What could there possibly be left?" Vanille asked, anxiousness and fear warring in her tone. Pyres flicked her eyes to Vanille before returning to Serah. Her lips flattened in thought for a few moments before she stood and grabbed the spear thing from her back in her right hand. Holding it almost lazily, she eyed something near the bottom of the blade, a distant look in her eyes. Serah and Vanille looked at each other, curious and concerned. A very small, very distant crack of thunder sounded from afar, ushering the strange woman into action. She walked over to Serah while signaling Vanille over, spear thing held like something precious and revolting at the same time. Vanille moved over immediately and hunched near Serah, looking up expectantly at Pyres.

Pyres twirled her spear without warning, switching the hand it was held in before kneeling, holding it near the the bottom of the blade. She pointed at something scribbled on the metal of the weapon that was not quite visible yet. "This," she said, voice low, "is the mark of the fal'cie that has returned. For centuries it has been nothing but a faint shape, a shadow of what it once was. Now, it is slowly returning with the coming again of its creator, gaining substance and form as its fal'cie gains power." As Pyres spoke, the mark slowly became visible. It was a vortex of thick, twisting, flame-like lines that seemed to turn, arc, coil and spiral about upon the weapon. Even though it lacked colour and depth, it still made Serah dizzy with its maddening dance. She drew away first, shaking her head to dispel her light-headedness as Vanille continued to stare down into the confusing swirl. For some reason she couldn't identify, Serah was sure she'd seen it somewhere a long time. _You just don't forget something like this._

Clearing her throat softly, Serah looked back up at Pyres questioningly. Pyres held her gaze, a somber and near sad look deep within her eyes. "And which fal'cie is that?" Serah asked quietly, mindful of Vanille still not moving from her spot beside her. Pyres sighed and stepped away, strapping her spear thing to her back as she went to sit back down. Her face was resigned as she faced the two young women. She didn't reply for a long time, merely looking at them as if she was greatly reluctant to respond.

"Isn't it obvious? Death, of course."

Serah blinked uncomprehendingly. "W-what?"

Pyres pursed her lips. "Maybe not quite so obvious in this century. Alright, it's like this: you know the story of how the Maker made the fal'cie and humans, yes?" she inquired. Serah and Vanille nodded in confirmation before Pyres continued. "Well, Death is sort of like the Maker's sibling of sorts and a cousin-ish to the fal'cie. The reason being is, you can't have life without there being death and vice versa. Like a yin and yang, the Maker and Death are opposites that need each other. The only difference is that while the Maker is now gone from whatever we are in - realm, world, dimension, universe - Death never really went away in the first place." She leaned back fully into the seat. "I'll give you a short rundown of the Fall. As you know from earlier, the Fall was basically an apocalypse of sorts. When it happened, Death faded away from the worlds unable to fully return. The Fall happened in the first place because of it and its insatiable lust for the living.

"But before I can get into that, you must know that originally, every human being lived here on Gran Pulse. It was only after the cataclysmic Fall that a majority of the fal'cie took what remaining humans were left up here to Cocoon and sealed it away from Gran Pulse. The fal'cie left here gave little support to the few humans left as well and so were more survivor oriented, and after enough years, distinct differences were developed between the two worlds. Cocoon people had a greater population and more technologically advanced weaponry, whereas the people on Gran Pulse were a few, hardy people, molded and shaped by the everyday difficulties presented by the untamed wilds. The War of Transgression was fought heartily indeed, but in the end the assistance of Cocoon fal'cie tipped the war in their favor.

"Now, since Death was no longer really present in the worlds, the Cocoon fal'cie were more able to protect and nurture their human pets up in their shell. That doesn't people didn't die, of course; they just didn't die as much as they would have if Death remained. So the population grew uncontrollably on Cocoon while Gran Pulse fended for itself. The fal'cie down here didn't care as much for the human residents and so just mostly left them alone, except for when the Cocoon fal'cie started stripping the land for Cocoon - then the Pulse fal'cie started making l'cie in retaliation. Battles and skirmishes were fought, but nothing really big until the War started. In the meantime, the Pulse fal'cie felt they should preserve worthy humans for later battles or wars and so sent chosen l'cie to do menial tasks, such as the ones who became cie'th stones, so that they would be preserved until they were needed again. You can figure out just from that particular example how well that worked out.

"Now, as for the Fall, it was caused by a string of events brought into motion by Death." She paused for a moment and focused on the youngest Farron. "Serah, how much do you know of our family history?"

*Pie-rus


	11. Reunion

Disclaimer: _I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it. _

Reunion

"Fang, we need to find out what's going on as soon as possible -"

"Yea, but that don't mean we have to rush off in the bloody early hours of the mornin' to search for answers while you're still injured and under the influence of painkillers - "

"That doesn't matter, Fang!" A pale hand slashed through the air in an angry gesture, followed by an accusing finger. "You know as much as I do that whatever we find could help us figure out what is wrong with my injury - "

"And at what cost? If ya further injure yourself while searching for a damned cure what would be the point if push yourself too far?"

Lightning lurched to a stop and whirled to face Fang completely. Emerald and azure met in a clash of wills, each pushing the other to give. Fang stepped forward and put her face inches from Lightning's. "Light," she began, voice low with restrained anger, "you know I'm right. You can't run off and dig for information when you're tired as hell and banged up. I won't let you." Lightning's lips thinned, explosive fury behind her eyes throwing daggers at Fang. She abruptly turned and started walking again, leaving Fang behind to sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. _Bloody soldier._ She let the stubborn woman walk for a ways before following.

The rain had almost completely stopped by now - only a miserable drizzle was left to seep into their clothes and chill the bones. As the two stepped outside, Fang looked up at the sky. No stars were visible behind the dark mass of rainclouds hovering over Oerba, and she figured it would probably rain for a few days yet. A few feet ahead of her, Lightning climbed into the passenger seat of the vehicle and slammed the door, venting her anger on the poor, helpless thing. Fang thought of the first time she had met Lightning as she idly climbed into the driver's side and started the engine. There had been a flash of.. something that day between the two before a single word had even been said. Fang wouldn't say it was attraction - not at first, at least. No, the attraction had built up slowly over the endless days in each other's company, fighting for their lives and against the fal'cie. Neither acknowledged it for a long time, either. It had mostly begun with Fang poking fun at Lightning in curiosity of the strange feeling from that first day, and, later on, she began prodding and pushing to know the exotic soldier. She had expected the initial resistance Lightning presented upon the first few conversations - what she hadn't expected was for Lightning to begin prodding back.

It had been a simple enough time in those days. Survival had been the top priority, and when you're out in the wilderness all on your own, well..there's no society to bother you. Just the bliss of simplicity and necessity. Eat, sleep, walk, fight, conversate. Rinse and was one thing that Fang missed so much about it. With nothing to get in the way of the group's straight shot towards putting Barthandelus in its place, Fang had been able to focus on forging a strong bond with Lightning that had eventually turned into an even stronger relationship.

Glancing over, Fang noted that Lightning had dozed off with her head pressed against the window. Shoulders slightly slumped, breathing slow and even, all tension gone, beautiful eyes closed - it was a sight that made Fang's heart sigh with a love so deep it hurt. The past months had been heaven for the Pulsian. Together with her beloved, Lightning, she had let her heart soar to heights she had never before experienced. Their love was a love that always made Fang feel like a young girl with her first crush all over again. That fluttery sigh of her breath each time she laid eyes upon Lightning; the inevitable skipping and then constant beating of her heart everytime they touched, even if it was a single brush of the fingers; the chaotic, soothing, adrenaline-lined whirl of emotions that surged whenever they made love. Fang had never been more happy, more in love.

Yet she felt a shadow growing on her personal paradise.

Lightning's sudden switch to her old self made Fang's gut clench in anxiety. Lightning's eyes had looked haunted for a split second during their talk in the kitchen, a fact that had puzzled Fang in the back of her mind all night. The rum had helped quell her rage after Lightning had gone to bed, but not her thoughts. She almost wished her legendary resistance wasn't so, well, legendary.

Sometimes, it was a blessing to get smashed off your ass.

Fang sighed and rubbed her nose as she turned down the road leading to home. The day had been long and exhausting and she was looking forward to crashing in bed with Lightning in her arms - aversions be damned. She had given the stubborn woman her space before the explosion of blood and Fang would eat her lance before she did that again. Besides, she could no longer sleep without snuggling up to Lightning. Unless, of course, she drank large amounts of alcohol.

But she couldn't deny that things were changing between her and Light, and so much more. Something dangerous was brewing - Fang could feel it deep within her bones. "Shoulda known something was bound to happen after so many months of happiness," she muttered to herself as she pulled into the drive of home. One thing she couldn't deny, however, was how much the old citizens of Cocoon had had to change in order to survive, and eventually, thrive on Gran Pulse. Almost a year since the events that lead to the crystallization of Cocoon, things were looking pretty good. The people had risen to the challenge, organizing methods of safety and survival while they strenuously worked to rebuild the abandoned and desolate homes of Fang's people long gone. She had to give it to them: despite living off of their fal'cie for so many years, the vipers could be damned resilient and adaptable when the times called for it.

Fang stared at the raindrops coalescing and running freely on the windows. In the deepest part of her mind, she had to admit that they were doing a hell of a lot better than she and her own people had managed in her time. There had been so few people then, with most sent off to fight in the War and manage the building and distribution of the few war machines they had created. Only the old and the very young could lead some semblance of a life. Death was very much a part of everyday life; most, if not at all, of the hunters had been called to war, so it was left up to the feeble and inexperienced to protect themselves. The Elders had tried their best to instill their wisdom through the villages left standing from the continous destruction of the War, but they could only do so much. Foolishness abounded and many hardheaded children determined to prove their worth got themselves skewered by the predators of Gran Pulse or the vipers of Cocoon. Funerals occurred dozens of times in a single month, and with the amount of death the War caused, broken souls and orphaned children flowed into Oerba with every one. She had grown up knowing she could die at any minute of any day, Vanille included. It was why she adopted her attitude of living life to its fullest - if you're gonna die, you might as well have lived first.

Life was almost easy here now. It rankled almost a bit of resentment against her life-long enemies, to know they were doing far better than she had ever done. In a way, it was almost like living amongst the interactive, controlling fal'cie had taught them things the people of Gran Pulse had never learned, and suffered for it. It hurt to think of which would have been a better life: one of freedom shadowed by constant death, or one of caged living with false contentment. Fang was sure her younger self would have chosen the former in a heartbeat over 'that nasty nest of vipers,' but now she wasn't so sure. She felt sick just thinking about it, and not just because it would have been a betrayal of the highest kind against her people.

Looking towards Lightning, Fang reached her hand out and ran her fingers along that pale skin. What did she know, however, was that she loved Lightning body and soul - nothing would ever change that. She was confident they would work through whatever was happening between them and face the imminent danger together. With a sigh, she opened her door and stepped outside into the cool air. The wind gently caressed her skin as she walked to the opposite side and gathered the slumbering beauty in her arms. "Out like a light," Fang joked to herself. _Can't wait to curl up in bed and sleep until next week._

She walked up the path slowly, taking in the ambient night sounds and the luscious feeling of Lightning slumbering peacefully. After one of the longest days of her life, Fang was content to simply enjoy what she could before the next bout of fate knocked her over sideways again. A lilting, soothing lullaby from her childhood drifted into her mind and she began to hum it quietly as she ascended the steps.

She was so unfocused on her surroundings that she failed to notice the lights spilling from the windows until she was almost upon them.

Her footsteps halted immediately and the lullaby died instantly in her throat. The instincts that she had honed and perfected through the long years of survival screamed something was up. And she would be damned if she ignored that warning. In the total silence that followed, Fang could at last make out voices coming from the living room. She followed the meager threads and tuned her ears into the insides of the house. There were three people: two voices she recognized, one completely new. Her muscles bunched in alarm for a split second until Vanille's cheery voice exclaimed in jubilation. _Hmm..doesn't sound like she's in distress._ However, Fang's instincts were still rearing high and clear, so she resisted the impulse to charge inside and act like nothing was wrong.

Instead, she stealthily crept the rest of the way towards the door while regretting her decision to leave her lance in the bedroom. _Shoulda known better._ Lightning was completely still, lost in a deep slumber. It tickled something in the corner of Fang's mind, but she shoved it aside in light of the current matter. There were more pressing things to deal with. She shifted the soldier ever so slightly in her arms and adjusted her hand on the doorknob. Hundreds of different scenarios flashed through her mind before settling on the one least likely to result in any number of horrific deaths. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed open the door, body tensed and coiled for combat.

Despite her preparations, she was completely unprepared for what she saw.

Serah and Vanille were huddled together on the couch facing the doorway, dreamily staring at each other. A woman was leaning over them, whispering something in Serah's ear. A long, wicked weapon Fang had not seen in _years_ was strapped to her back. But the one thing that caused her to stiffen in surprise, was the woman's hair color. _Bloody. Hell._ Darker than Lightning's, styled in much the same way, sparkly and luminescent. An old memory shot to the surface from her subconscious. She knew that head of hair.

The stranger turned around to look at Fang the moment she stiffened. She blinked once before smiling slyly and slowly walking over to the stupefied huntress. "Hello, Fang," her sultry voice whispered. "I see you're doing well." Fang's eyes narrowed instantly. The facial features fell into place and her hands twitched to strangle the woman. "Outta my way," she growled before pushing her aside and going to the other couch. First thing's first: she had get Lightning safely aside before engaging in combat. As she gently set the soldier down, the woman was by her side without even a whisper of a sound. Fang's territorialism roared in defiance; she whipped around, right hook aimed squarely at that stupid head -

Only to hit empty air, stumble and run into the lazy chair.

_Oh, she did NOT just do that. _

Enraged, she whipped around again, eager for blood. The woman was crouched down in front of Lightning, paying no attention at all. Seeing red, Fang tensed her body for a fraction of a second to jump on that _hateful_ back and rip out that _awful_ hair -

Only to be stopped, again. This time she was rendered completely immobile, unable to even speak. She screamed in her head, desperate to do something.

"Stop it, Fang," the woman said, still not turning around. "You could at least remember my name first before continuing your failed assaults." _Bitch._ "Also, you might want to calm down long enough to listen to me." Fang mentally snorted, fully intending to _not_ listen and just talk with her fists instead. The woman suddenly whipped around and Fang found herself staring down a pair of equally enraged eyes. "For the sake of Lightning," the woman hissed, glaring daggersl, "set aside your anger and just listen!" Fang blinked, trying to understand what she meant. The woman - _Pyres, her name is Pyres _- turned distant and sad as she turned back around, and Fang discovered she could move again. She moved her limbs to dispel the numbness they had acquired before slowly walking over to the couch.

"Look at Lightning, Fang. Something is wrong."

Dutifully, Fang looked at Lightning's face and was shocked to discover that something was, indeed, wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong. Lightning was ashen, any colour present before completely gone. Her breathing was shallow and erratic, her chest barely moving. Fang fell to her knees in disbelief, reaching for her hand. "Light?" her voiced squeaked, desperate and worried. But it was what Pyres said next that made Fang's blood run cold.

"Fang, she's dying."

_No..._

_

* * *

_

_A/N: My deepest, sincerest apologies. I never meant to let this go for so long, and then to only give you a measely couple thousand word long chapter... I really wanted to give you whallop of good stuff in this one, but that would have required a couple weeks more (at the least) of waiting for it, so I just decided to go ahead and give you this short bone. Please forgive me? Anyway, I put it at the bottom this time because for one, you're probably all _OMFG why does Fang know Lightning's ancestor? D:_ Well, that's part of the plot and I'll address it in later chapters. For now, Lightning's dying! Omguh! :P But really, I've had a good time to figure out what I'm going to fill in in between now and what I'm heading towards. Lots of good schtuff, if I ever get around to giving you long enough chapters to satisfy. I hope you enjoyed anyway! _


	12. Memories

_A/N: What's this? An update so soon? Nonsense! :P This is an important chapter. It establishes the basis of the relationship between Fang and Pyres (which, I'll go ahead and say right, ain't exactly pretty) and shows what happened to Fang as a child during the War. You may have noticed the rating change. That is because we are now moving into the darker portions of the plot - war is never pretty and rarely, if ever, glorious, and with this fic's main plot mostly coming from the past, you're going to be seeing a lot of the War of Transgression. And let's not forget the current dilemmas! With Death, you can be sure things will get down and dirty. Part of the reason this change is being made is because for one, I realized I was growing bored with the plot. Painful to admit, but it's true. It's partially why it took so long to get the last chapter out, and I just now realized it. Another part of it is I've always been way too good to my characters. I think it's time to change that. Be prepared for fun, icky drama! As a side note, I'm not entirely sure I got the..character emotions and relations through on this one. I've rewritten portions of it from the original document, and I'm still not sure if I caught everything. Oh well. Enjoy :D_

Disclaimer:_ I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

Memories

To say that Fang was distressed was putting it mildly. Vanille couldn't tell who was paler: Lightning in her dying state or Fang in her worry. She was still kneeling beside Lightning, clutching her hand with a broken expression on her face. Vanille bit her lip in worry for her sister, for what could happen if Lightning didn't make it. She looked over at Pyres to check on the progress of her analysis, and then at Serah to gauge her levels of anxiety. The youngest Farron was biting her fist, but other than the concern evident in her eyes, she wasn't near as bad as Fang. Poor woman was almost incapacitated with grief.

Pyres began slowly peeling back the bandages around Lightning's injury. Fang started at the movement, head shooting towards Pyres with wide eyes. The woman only looked at Fang with raised brows before continuing the process. With an effort, Fang took a deep breath and steadily stoked her grief into a productive rage. She stood resolutely and let Pyres attain a more advantageous position, the glint in her eyes and the hard set to her face signaling she was done with grief. Either Lightning would live, or she would die, and Fang would be damned if she let her emotions overcome her at such a crucial time. As the bandages came off layer by layer, it was soon apparent the problem was in her arm: dark, thick ooze mixed with blood coated the insides of the cloth, and as Pyres continued to peel them off, it became thicker. By the time all the bandages were off, Serah had run out of the room to empty her stomach in the downstairs bathroom. Vanille wished she could do the same, but no matter how her stomach roiled and protested, her legs refused to move. She could only stare in fascinated horror.

Lightning's arm was a grotesque mess. The thick, gelatinous substance was thickly coated around the wound, mixing hideously with her blood and making an awful mess of toxicity. It dripped onto the fresh bandages Pyres had set underneath Lightning's arm, but as Vanille continued to watch, that wasn't the worst part. The lacerations had extended once again, now reaching up to her bicep and palm, and a curious pure white lay underneath all the goo and blood. _Huh?_ "What..?" she voiced, unable to discern what it was.

Fang turned to look at her with a blank face. "It's the bone, Vanille."

_The bone? ..oh my goodness._ The roiling within Vanille's stomach reached its high point and she found she could finally move her legs as she sprinted towards the bathroom, passing Serah in her need to get away. It had been a long time since she'd been faced with any deep, brutal injuries, and her gut had lost it's medic's immunity. Serah, with her astute observations, realized that if Vanille had not lost it earlier as Serah had and now was, it was probably in her best interest to avoid the grim operations going on in the living room. So she decided to boil some water in case Pyres needed any and provide assistance for materials required. After all, there wasn't much she could for Lightning, despite how she ached to. She had not acquired magic upon her branding, a fact that had caused her some confusion when Snow had related tales of their adventures after the whole ordeal had ended. Though Pyres was mostly a stranger, Serah trusted her inexplicably with Lightning. It was the only thing she could do.

Meanwhile, Fang and Pyres expertly assessed the amount of damage done. For Fang, she would have immediately began the process to amputate the limb to prevent further infection in the blood. But it was no longer her time and she would cut off all her limbs before she even considered doing that to Light. "Right," she began, voice carefully controlled, "how are we gonna do this? By the look in your eyes I gather you know how to fix this without performing an amputation." Pyres dipped her head in acknowledgement as she began digging in one of her pouches. Fang bit the inside of her cheek to keep from lashing out, forcing herself to be patient and wait for the answer. She knew Pyres was not a woman to be rushed - she may have..complicated feelings for the woman, but she knew Pyres was a damned good medic and would do everything in her power to help Lightning. Fang was willing to set aside her anger for the time being and pour all her energy into getting Lightning well again. Within the span of a few more moments, Pyres began to speak.

"This is beyond a mere laceration injury, as you can see. The goo is indication of a blood infection, and because it is mixing with the blood into a thick substance, we know it is a particularly bad case. Now normally I would say this is a lost cause because the blood has already circulated through the body and has most likely hit the heart by now. However, since this is Lightning and your beloved - and the fact that much bigger things are coming our way - I will perform drastic measures to save her life without resorting to amputation. To begin, I need to know exactly what caused this injury."

Fang's eyebrows had risen at Pyres's reasons for helping her, but now she rubbed her chin in thought. "It was a goo type monster, unknown. Earlier today, Lightning got a call out to the Sulyya Springs to deal with something going on near the water pipes. Her superior, Amodar, requested the presence of the rest of the former l'cie because he suspected magic would be needed in whatever the problem was. Damn bugger was right." She shook her head and sighed before continuing. "It was a quite a sight, the Springs. Most of the wildlife was dead and all shriveled up, the plantlife decaying at a rapid rate..anything alive in that cavern was either in the process of decaying, dying, or already dead. Things got steadily worse as we advanced towards the center, but it was there that we hit the jackpot of trouble.

"The water was no longer water - that glorious, sweet, clearer than crystal water was completely gone. In its place was this mucky crap, thicker than walls and toxic as hell. Lightning had knelt down by the edge to better examine it, and a few moments later she was attacked. The goo reached out and grabbed hold of her arm," she gestured towards the mangled mess of Lightning's limb, "and as she pulled backwards, this..flan look alike came out with her. I say flan look alike loosely - never have I thought there would be anything uglier than a flan, but that thing was atrocious. I attacked it to get it offa her and more came out of the muck after that. I'll cut down on the details and just give you the basics for now. We ended up fighting endless numbers of little goo's until they all merged into a huge one and Light had to bust it up with a serious dose of Thundaga to defeat it. In the middle of battle she disappeared and got beat around by the little things, but I'm not entirely sure that's correct. I was not present at that time and I only have her word to go off of, but I donno why she'd lie to me."

Pyres narrowed her eyes and pulled out a few vials from her pouch. Fang watched curiously as she set up a strange arrangement of equipment - _Where did that come from?_ - and fished various powders out of another pouch. The woman was silent as she expertly mixed yellowish white crystals and a light blue powder together in a tube before adding a single drop of a crystal clear liquid that sizzled and bubbled. The acrid stench that followed made Fang crinkle her nose in distate, but it was gone almost instantly and replaced with a soothing, pleasant scent. Pyres put a stopper on the top of the tube, shook it once, and then blasted it with a single shot of electricity. The substance was now no longer a liquid, but a gaseous mixture of grayish colour. Fang lifted her eyebrows at the antics.

Pyres looked Fang in the eye and grinned. "Alchemy, my dear," she said as she set the tube down in a metal holder and stood up. Fang shook her head and gave the woman an exasperated look. Pyres ignored it and began speaking again. "Before you ask, no, I am not done yet. I still need to add a few things, but the mixture needs to sit undisturbed for awhile. It will give me time to acquire the rest of the ingredients and continue explaining the nature of Lightning's wound." She sat on the edge of the nearby love seat and gestured for Fang to sit near Lightning. The huntress obliged, sitting on the armrest above Lightning's head. She began slowly running her fingers through the mass of pink hair at her fingertips, the familiar habit soothing Fang's burgeoning agitation and looming anger.

The woman let Fang have have a few minutes to gather her thoughts before speaking. "This isn't any ordinary blood infection. It was caused by the return of an entity better left gone; but seeing as how you were absent from the earlier conversation, I will give you a condensed version of the one I gave Serah and your sister." She took a deep breath. "A long time ago, before you were born, the people of Gran Pulse and Cocoon lived as a single society here on Gran Pulse until the time of the Fall. After the cataclysmic event, the fal'cie that would become known as Cocoon fal'cie took the majority of the remaining humans left alive and took them up to Cocoon, sealing it away from our world below. I need not get into the mechanics of the War of Transgression as you lived through it, so I will continue with the Fall. It was a catastrophic chain of events that led to the destruction and death of hundreds of thousands of people.

"From your childhood I'm sure you are aware of certain tales that were only whispered about among the adults when the children were all in bed. These have to do with a fal'cie not commonly known as its self but rather by its nature and what it does. Have you guessed it yet?" Fang's face was blank as she blinked in confirmation. Pyres almost smiled. "I see. Death was always rather fickle in nature, and if you haven't thought it already, I shall tell you: Death has returned. Never fully banished, Death could still influence us through the years as the other fal'cie ruled. Up in Cocoon, they were better protected by the power of their masters, so they escaped the brunt of it. Gran Pulse, on the other hand, was left to fend for itself, and so it focused its sights on us and wreaked as much havoc as it was able. That is why so many of our people died so needlessly.

"As for now, Death is returning to our realm, universe, world, whatever we are in; it is regaining it's power and is eager to return to it's glory days before the Fall. This was achieved by the death of Orphan and the resulting destruction of most of the fal'cie; and yes, I say _most_, not_ all_, for not all were destroyed. One of the only things that could have returned Death happened when you and your comrades defied your Focus and saved Cocoon from utter annihilation. The sudden and abrupt deaths of hundreds of fal'cie, Death's relations in arms, brought into being the tether of power it needed to pull itself back. Now it has not completley manifested yet; not even close, in fact. But that does not mean it is not getting stronger and steadily regaining it's influence. If we do not act accordingly, and soon, many people will begin to die. And they will not die a painless death."

She gestured towards Lightning's arm, eyes never leaving Fang's. "This is but a taste of what will happen if Death shall succeed in returning. People will scream and writhe and _die_ in the worst agonies possible. Death delights in toying with human lives, inflicting unspeakable horrors upon us as if we are it's playthings. Our free will, our independence, even our very consciousness will be taken from us. We will become slaves of the worst possible kind, tethered and doomed for eternity, for Death in its full power rules the afterlife. Even if you were to reach the end of your mortal torture and pass into the realm of the dead, Death would seize your being, your very _soul_, and keep you in a never-ending torment. In fact I think Death would kill every single person alive if it were to return, and then delight in our torment until the end of days." She stood and slowly advanced upon Fang, hard eyes driving home the point. "Failure to stop this will result in the end of everything you know. Death's agents will hunt you down, one by one, and force you to submit to their will before turning you over to Death itself. It is the worst fate imaginable, and I would not wish it upon my most hated enemies."

Fang swallowed in fear as Pyres bent over her. Even as she advanced, her face inches away, she continued speaking. "Lightning's injury was caused by one of Death's agents. They are what the flans descended from after the Fall and are, by far, deadlier. They are among the lowest of it's army, and therefore have no formal name. We would call them infectors because that is their job: to spread decay and infect the land. Very effective way of controlling the human populace." Pyres smirked suddenly, leaning even closer to brush the tip of her nose against Fang's. Fang shivered involuntarily at the contact, memories she both loathed and treasured rising to the forefront of her mind. Pyres pulled back just a smidgen, still smirking. "Lightning's current state is a good sign. You should be thankful of the fact that she is so healthy and young, full of living energy. Her body is shutting down because it's fighting off the infection, not because the infection is killing her. If it was, there would be no sign to mark its deadly progress through her body, and she would seem perfectly fine until dropping dead the instant the infection finished it's job. Such cases are near impossible to help, for if the body fails to recognize the invasion then any cure we concoct would be useless."

Pyres pulled back and stepped away, turning towards her alchemy setup. Fang took a deep breath to steady her erratic heartbeat, both from the news Pyres delivered and the woman herself. She continued to watch her, waiting for an opportunity to speak before Pyres said, "This cure will only take care of the blood infection and the damage it caused, not the lacerations on her arm. I expect those won't be so bad as they are now because a great portion of it has been caused by the ongoing infection. She will be completely fine while I finish this, so you need not worry about her dying on you. At the very least, she would continue to live for a few days in this state before shutting down all the way to prevent the infection from having its way. An adverse reaction you think, but it is how Death designed it."

"What about the other things you need?" Fang inquired, still concerned about Lightning's condition. She may trust Pyres to help, but the whole business of things from the past suddenly coming back and unleashing unrestrained havoc unnerved her. Something about it rubbed her wrong every which way. Before Pyres could respond, Serah emerged from the kitchen with a tray of various pots, a med-kit, and a kettle of boiling water. Pyres smiled widely at the youngest Farron, laughed, and then kissed her on the cheek as she took the tray. "Thank you, dear - even after all these years, it seems the family intelligence has not diminished at all," Pyres said, gazing warmly at Serah, who in turn was basking in the warmth. Fang watched the scene with a mixture of admiration, queasiness, and longing; she well remembered the days when Pyres had gazed at her like that, had showered her in the affection she had so desperately craved. It never came without a price, however. Fang snorted as Pyres's gaze turned wistful, and, dare she say, almost _sad_ as she brushed her hands through Serah's bangs. She wanted to swat her away from Serah, tell her to set her sights on someone _not_ engaged and several hundred years younger than her -

But then it hit her; a conversation long forgotten now reviewed itself in fast forward, and she remembered that Pyres had told her she had had a sister, once. Something had happened to her long ago, something that had made Pyres..unbearably sad. It was the only time Fang could recall ever seeing her so broken. _And if she looks like Lightning, and Serah is Lightning's sister.._ It wasn't hard to put two and two together from there: Pyres was seeing her sister in Serah, and missing her terribly.

It almost made Fang want to wash her hands of her anger and start anew with the woman. Almost.

"Fang," Pyres said, directing her attention towards the huntress, "I need your assistance with something after I finish here." Fang shook her thoughts away and paid attention to what was going on. Pyres was now examining the concoction she had created earlier with rapt attention; Serah was gone from the room, probably to return to what she had been doing before supplying the tray. Fang noticed a steaming cup of tea on the nearby stand, and as she bent to pick it up, she noticed it was peppermint flavoured. Her favourite. But as she held it in her hands, she didn't drink it; instead, she stared down into the steamy liquid and thought of her childhood, of Pyres and her role in it.

It had been a tumultuous time. Overflowing with an endless anger and at a loss of what to do with it, Fang had thrown herself into anything she could get her hands on. Fixing clocks and bits of machinery left around the village; carving toys and tools for the incessant flow of orphaned children; cooking and cleaning around the orphanage every other day; sharpening her skills as a hunter and provider. Protecting Vanille had become number one on her priority list the first time she had found her crying, but in order to do that, she had had to get sronger. But, it was only because of Pyres that she had been able to do any of that at all.

Pyres had been the one to save her life, so many years ago, when the Cocoon soldiers had attacked her home. She had lived in a tiny village (the name the she couldn't remember), nestled beneath tall, snowy mountains. It was so out of the way that only a few hunters lived there for protection - wildlife rarely bothered them and news of the War had not reached them yet. Her five-year-old self was wild and rambunctious already (much to her parent's loving irritation), ranging far and wide from home to explore and discover. Oh, how she had loved wandering off into the nearby open fields, climbing up the gently sloping hunting paths in the mountains, fishing and playing in the stream near the edge of the forest.

These little adventures of hers saved her from a fate worse than death.

They had attacked at dawn when everyone would be still asleep and unresponsive. She had left in the middle of night to look at the stars from the mountains, at a place she had recently found from one of her favorite paths. Higher up, the stars had been magnificent..but because she had been so focused on the sky directly above, she had not noticed the smoke until the sun had already risen. By then, she could hear the screams. Alarmed, she had rushed back as fast as her little feet could carry her, the sounds of slaughter becoming louder and louder as she got closer. When she finally burst around the final corner, she choked and gagged at what she saw.

Everything was burning - the smoke was so thick and black it clogged her throat and made her eyes water. Figures could be seen darting around and through it, and she assumed they were people trying to put out the fires. But as she paid closer attention she noticed some falling over while running from another figure, and that figure would turn and chase another. Confused, she watched in curiosity until some of those figures emerged from the smoke at a full sprint.

It was a young woman and her baby child.

Fang stood frozen to the spot, not understanding why the woman was sobbing, or why the baby was screaming. The two only managed a few yards before a man she did not recognize charged out of the smoke next, twin blades soaked in crimson. He swiftly overtook them, cruelly swiping the tip of one blade through the woman's ankle. She cried out and twisted around as she fell to protect her child. But as Fang watched, the act had been in vain: the man reached down, ripped his sword across the abdomen, and forced the child from her arms. Her screech of maternal terror and pain rocked Fang to her very soul; but it was what happened next that shattered her entire comprehension of the world.

The man held the child just out of reach and made the mother watch as he held it's head in one hand and _crushed_ it, blood and brains spurting over the woman like a fountain. He tossed the corpse aside as if it was garbage and proceeded to laugh in the face of the mother's anguish. Fang stared, horrified and sick, yet unable to make herself move. She realized the woman was still alive as her sobs of the deepest anguish imaginable (she still heard it sometimes, in her dreams) ripped the very air apart. The man sneered and tore her clothing off, baring her skin to the cool morning air. She desperately tried to fight him off, weakly clawing and kicking, but the man merely broke her hands and legs as he spread her legs. He proceeded to drop his trousers and thrust mercilessly inside, the woman never ceasing her screams. When he finished, he merely pulled his trousers back up, wiped his blades on the grass, and left her there to die.

Trembling violently and now crying herself, Fang slowly made her legs walk over to the woman. Her screams had become broken sobs, knowing she could lie there for hours before dying off and could only hope to not be found by another man. As Fang knelt beside her and tenderly touched her face, the woman only had one request. "Please," she whispered, "please, I beg you..end the pain..and then run, run until you can't stop.." As Fang stared into her eyes, she saw they were a deep hazel, and she very pretty. She swallowed and nodded, unsure of how to help until she remembered the safety knife her father had given her on her fifth birthday. Her mother had argued that she was too young for a weapon, but her father had argued that Fang was mature for her age and more than ready. Normally she used it to help in her explorations, but now..now, she would use it to help end someone's life.

She reached for it now, nestled safely in the side of her boot. It took several tries to safely pull it out of it's sheathe with her shaking hands, but when she finally managed it, the woman nodded her head. Fang, unsure of how to do it, hesitated and suddenly felt unable to do it. She began to sob, saying "I can't do it..I can't!" The woman reached up slowly and grabbed her tiny hand grasping the knife with her wrists. "You can," she whispered back, slowly guiding the tip of her knife towards the area of her heart. Fang remembered the few lessons her mother had given her in the uses of a knife, how to cut and where to do it. She swallowed and tightened her grip, pulling it up a few inches -

Hesitating -

Hesitating -

And then she threw it down with a cry, plunging the entire blade into her heart. Blood squirted and splattered on her face, on her arms, on her hands, on her sari..and for a split moment, she worried she had failed and left the woman in agony - until she heard a shaky exhale of breath. She looked up at the woman's face and saw her eyes closed, her expression serene. Peaceful. It boggled her mind how she could look so..unpained when just moments ago she had been sobbing in agony. Fang sat there for a long time and merely looked at the woman's face, committing it to memory. Then she staggered to her feet and threw up in a nearby bush.

The village was just about burned to the ground, now. She turned to look at the pillar of smoke, but could see nothing through it. People were still screaming, however, and she knew instinctively that her parents were already dead; and she would follow if she stayed. Numb and unable to think, she began walking back up the path. Approaching footsteps should have alerted her that she was about to be found, that the horrible things just done to that woman was about to be done to her. But she was numb and she couldn't think. As she rounded the corner, she ran straight into the legs of three more unfamiliar men. They cursed, thinking it was a fiend, until they saw it was just a small child, covered in blood and running away. The first grinned maliciously, looking at the other two before reaching down and roughly restraining her. She didn't think to fight back, she merely looked up at him uncomprehendingly.

They took her a little ways back around the bend, towards an alcove. The moment they threw her into the corner she should have stood and ran like the wind, but she couldn't. She couldn't. So she just lied there, immobile and unresponsive, as they sized her up and the first began to draw his knife. When he made the first cut, she only stared at it; when the second cut was made, she twitched but still did nothing; on the third, she gasped and began to squirm; and on the fourth, she screamed. Her functioning power returned to her and she started throwing her fists with a fury she'd never known. The man stumbled back, caught off guard by her sudden fire. He yelled something and backhanded her across the face, sending her flying back into the mountain wall. She felt something crack and gargled in pain, but before she could stand back up, she was thrown onto her back and her sari hiked up over her thighs.

The men surrounded her, each taking their turns with her body. She sobbed, cried, screamed, fought, bit, thrashed..nothing she did got them off. By the time they had finished, her body was spent, battered, and bruised. Her will was utterly broken and she could only stare unseeingly into space. The three men gathered in a huddle for a time, discussing something. When they had finished, the first man approached her with chains and shackles. They meant to make her their prisoner. She closed her eyes and willed herself to die, begging to be released from her torment. _Anything but this._ Her prayers were answered in the form of a scream.

She opened her eyes again to see one of the men missing his hand, staring at a tall woman with pink hair and long, wicked weapon. The other two charged her with a battle scream, bloodthirsty for vengeance. But the woman merely sidestepped their attacks, decapitated the first and stabbed the second through the heart. The man she had first attacked now sputtered something, kneeling in front of her in a begging position. She merely gazed coldly at him and kicked him onto his back before spewing his intestines all over the ground. His sputters turned to whimpers, and soon, his breath stopped. Fang looked up at the woman, hoping she would end her pain as Fang had ended the mother's. But the woman knelt next to her and gently touched her cheek. It was in that moment that Fang knew she would heal.

Pyres scooped her up and took her away. The next few months were hazy at best, but Fang knew she was being nursed back to health by her saviour. When she was physically better, the mental process began. Pyres didn't speak of what had happened at the village, and Fang knew she had seen everything. Instead, she taught Fang how to hunt, how to forage for food, how to use a weapon. She showed her how to read and write, how to cook and properly clean meat, how to tan hides and build shelters. But the most important she taught her was how to use her anger, to channel it into a weapon and a defense. Through time, these teachings slowly repaired her mental wounds. Within a few years, Pyres took Fang to Oerba and left her at the orphanage with the promise she would return. By this time, Fang utterly adored Pyres, and when she finally did return many years from then, it had morphed into a sort of hero worship.

Fang still loved Pyres, and would forever be grateful for saving her, both on that day and in the following years. She wasn't sure what kind of person she would have become if not for her. But. As Fang took a sip of her now cooled tea and looked at the woman in question, she wasn't sure she could ever forgive Pyres for what she did to her when she was near the age of adulthood.


	13. Dominion

_A/N: Oh dear. It's been awhile, hasn't it? I do have good reasons this time, I really do. First I became violently sick, then I had to finish a presentation, take an important test, and got sucked into the awesome of awesome that is Dragon Age 2. I know that last one isn't _really_ a legitimate reason, but it still is one. In my defense, Bioware owns my soul and Merrill is just too damned adorable to resist. Too..damned..adorable. But you didn't come here to read about my addiction to Dragon Age 2! Not at all, not at all. For a while I wanted to go three different ways with this chapter, but in the end I went with this one after inspiritation struck me at four in the morning while I was trying to sleep. I'd have written it up then, but as I said, I was trying to sleep and didn't intend to stay up past sunrise and fall asleep at the keyboard. Anyway, I answered some things in this chapter from earlier on without being blatant about it :P I hope you spot them! If any of you recognize what is being done in this chapter (more than one thing is goin' down) I'll tell you if you're right and even explain it a bit before I even get to that point in the story :D and by that, I mean in the next chapter's A/N. Excited? I hope so. As a final thing, I would just like to say that all you readers, subscibers, favourite-ers, and reviewers are completely awesome and I am really grateful to you guys :3 Totally makes my day whenever my phone pings with an email of a review/subscription/favourite. Enjoy the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it_

Dominion

The sound of Lightning's footsteps echoed through the long, endless hallway. She had been wandering for a while now - with great certainty she knew she could not be awake, remembering falling unconscious on the ride home with Fang. But whether she was dreaming or whether she had been purposely pulled to this place was beyond her. The fact that the very air seemed saturated in a haze added to her belief of this place not being in the real world. It was almost as if she had drank large amounts of alcohol and managed to pick up the hazy, unfocused attribute but dodged the inhibited motor skills. Her entire body ached and throbbed with pain, most of it concentrated within her right arm. She knew it had to be from her injury, but the amount of pain coursing through her in her current dreamstate was worrying. Unease roiled in her stomach as she quickened her pace, eager to find the end to the incessant hall. There were no windows; large doors appeared at intervals as she walked along, complemented by many smaller ones in between. There was barely any light; for all the many torches and firepits lining the walls, it was very dark. Foreboding. Some strange, indescribable white light coursed high through the air, but it also did not provide very much relief. She knew in part it had to be because the hall was generously wide, and that nothing was brightly coloured - the walls were a dark grey, the doors and firepits an abyssmal black, the cobblestones under her feet near unseeable. The ceiling, which she guessed had to be far above from the amount of echo her feet caused, disappeared into nothing. Even the reddish glow of the fires was dull, barely registering at all. Whatever this place, Lightning knew it was not a good one.

She walked for a longer time yet, eyeing the strange doors with apprehension as her unsettlement grew with each step. As she passed each one, her hand clenched her blade in its holster tighter. If something lurked behind them, she would never know until they emerged. When her foot touched something soft and the echoing ceased, she jolted in suprise, her hand leaving her blade to provide balance. Looking down, she saw she had stepped onto a rug the colour of freshly spilled blood, and as she followed it with her eyes, noticed it stopped at a very large, very dark door at the end. She slowly walked forward, the roiling in her stomach growing. By the time she reached the ominous door her heart was beating like it would leap from her chest if given the chance. _Whatever is beyond there, you can handle it. You can handle it..._ Swallowing, she set a slightly shaky hand on the door and pushed. The door opened easily, noiselessly; it moved beneath her touch as if it had been waiting for her. This deeply disturbed her, and as she proceeded into the room before her, she did so with trepidation.

The first sight that greeted her was a staircase with two giant firepits blazing brightly atop the adjacent ledges, each to either side of the steps. Neither lit much however: they shed their light to the above area. The room stretched considerably to the other side, the ceiling remaining a mystery. She descended the steps, taking note of some sort of square pit in the middle of the area. Above it was a chandelier, brightly illuminating the area around it and not below it. Everything remained coated in the strange, hazy darkness. Upon reaching the bottom she immediately saw there were no more braziers, firepits, or torches. The left side was barely navigable, but a deep red glow emanated from the right and drew her attention towards it -

And instantly she regretted it.

A robed and hooded figure was standing with it's back to her, a long, wicked scythe strapped across the back. It was looking across the glowing area with a straight, impeccable posture that spoke of arrogance and complete assuredness. _That looks exactly like.. But it couldn't be._ The figure spoke without turning around, it's voice masculine, rich and deep, projecting absolute power:

"Welcome, welcome, my dear! I assume you like my current form? It is a favourite of you silly mortals when trying to personify what I am." It turned and regarded her, arms still clasped behind it. Bright, glowing red eyes seeped angrily from inside the hood, the rest of the face obscured by the a facial part of the hood. Lightning could only stare into those hateful orbs, unable to speak as the figure continued, "I haven't the slightest notion of where it came from, but I find myself enjoying the image. Well, for the most part - I tweaked it a bit before summoning you here."

Lightning shifted her weight uneasily, swallowing to find her voice. "You..look like the Grim Reaper. What are you?"

The figure laughed deeply and sinsiterly, throwing it's head slightly back. "Isn't it obvious? By taking this form I'd have thought you would realize it, but it seems you are like your mother. Do not worry, I shall alay your curiosities: I, am Death."

_My..mother? _She blinked, confused and wary. "Death? That's.." She shook her head, dismissing the information. "What do you mean, my mother?"

The figure moved towards her, floating across the distance. Lightning watched the movement anxiously and stepped back a bit, the rooted unease and fear forcing her to give ground. "Oh, I knew your mother _quite_ well," it continued as it advanced. "In fact, when she died and her soul passed through here, I kept her around for a little awhile to catch up on old times and check in on what she had been up to." Death stopped just a few feet away, and Lightning flinched at his words. "I.." she began, trying to process what had been said.

Death waved his hand, cutting her off before she could even arrange her thoughts to speak. She found herself unable to form coherent sentences, and stared back at the figure with fear. "Just listen for a bit, my little Farron. It has been far too long since I have conversed with one of you, and I intend to say my fair share before you butt in with your questions, accusations, and..disagreements." It's voice shifted into a gravelly growl at the last word, leading Lightning to the conclusion that it didn't take too kindly to those that spoke against it. Death turned away from her and floated back towards where it had been before, showing her it's grisly hands. They were a greenish hue with a sickly pallor, the skin seeming thick and slick; they had long, yellow fingernails, almost claws, and were monstrous.

"This 'it' pronoun you insist on calling me is unnecessary in my current form," Death spoke, voice tinged with deep amusement. "It is only proper when I have not taken any discernible appearance. But, as I have molded myself to be in the personage of what you mortals consider death to look like, well.. 'He' would be a better description, don't you agree?" Lightning really didn't but nodded her head anyway - she would not risk.._his_ anger. It was obvious she was trapped here in this strange place, called and sustained by his power alone. She still could not speak, and Death continued on.

"I am sure you have many questions. Do not fear! Most, if not all, will be answered with the following." He turned back towards her and she could swear the glowing red of his eyes were..almost gleeful. "For many, _many_ years I have been trapped here, fated to spend endless centuries within a cage that allows not my full power to reach the realm of the living." Death unclasped his hands and raised one arm to gesture at the surrounding room. "This has been my abode for as long as humanity's current memory extends back. I was sealed by the hands of the Maker and Etro for..a few things that happened when I was still fully part of your realm. In fact, I only continue to exist because of the amount of power I had in the glory days. And glorious they were.

"I was unstoppable." Death's gaze now turned up, towards the ever extending ceiling. "Power practically bled from the very air around me, and humanity soaked up every bit of it. No one dared oppose my reign, my domination, my _enslavement_ of anything and everything." Lightning visibly paled, not sure what he was getting at. "Every single human wanted to serve me, to have the honour of carrying out the will of Death. You might not agree _now,"_ he turned his burning gaze back on her and Lightning resisted the urge to back up, "but..with time, you will see reason."

He floated up to her, closer than he had been before. When she tried to step back for some space, she found to her horror that she was immobilized. Death lifted one gruesome finger to her chin and stopped just short of touching it. "What would you say, my dear Farron," he whispered seductively, eyes drawing her in, "if I told you your family was among those that served me, and that they were my highest honoured servants? If I explained that the family business your father mentioned before dying, the very night before his death, was the one conducted from the time of my reign?"

Lightning couldn't breathe. Questions raced about her mind, twisting and flying around themselves until they created such a mess that she could not make head or tail of what she needed to ask. What he was saying was impossible. Absolutely impossible.. _Is it? You've never found any evidence of the family business and that's because there was none to find. It happened centuries ago._ She shook her head to clear the accusing thoughts breaking through the questions. She knew she had to ask something, and the inner voice supplied her with one. "You said the family business was executed centuries ago during the time you ruled," she said breathlessly, happily finding she could once again speak. "If that's the case, how did my father know of it?"

Death chuckled, an ominous sound. He drifted away from her and swung his arms wide. "Why, that's because your father had a very unique power, a boon from servitude to me. He was not as young as you thought him to be." He chuckled again, the sound quickly becoming a drawn out cackle. It raised the hairs on Lightning's arms and the back of her neck. Her mind was confusion once more until the inner voice gave her another question. She cleared her throat and pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "What power was this?" she inquired.

"One I think you might have inherited, and if so, one you will be _delighted_ to have. If you haven't, well.. You will just have to find out what it is on your own." He spun around in glee and clapped his hands once, twice, thrice, and her mind whirled dizzily once more; the headache intensified. "But the rest of your questions will have to wait again. I am not quite finished. You see, since you are an intelligent being - not so much as myself but that is to be expected - I know you will not accept that such servitude to myself will come without a price. In that, you would be correct, but only in part. The only price I exact is when you die, and seeing as how your life is indefinitely extended while in my care.. It is a price you need not worry about."

The whirling in Lightning's head kept her from reflecting too much on what Death was saying, keeping her from analyzing and dissecting every word for hidden meaning. She knelt and clutched her head in both hands, the pain becoming near unbearable. Her arm was throbbing and felt like it was on fire, her body becoming perspired and fatigued. _What did he say? Something about a price..a price for serving him? I can't..think._ "What is..the price?" she gasped out, eyes clenched shut in the onslaught of pain. Death swirled closer and she could feel her very soul shudder with repulsion - her insides felt like they were slowly dying, her heart becoming strained in it's beating. With another clap or two the pain in her head ceased and she fell back in exhaustion and relief, breathing heavily. "Something I differ for every person. Tell you what, my little Farron," Death spoke slyly, moving away to the red glow on the other side of the room, "I will indulge you in a few things. Best listen closely before I shut you off from your mind again." He laughed aloud, the sound echoing in her head like the dire ringing of a bell. She shot up instantly to her knees and bowed her head slightly, listening intently with her hands clasped in her lap. In a distant corner in her mind the action seemed entirely wrong, but it was pushed down and away as Death began speaking again.

"Your father gravely disobeyed me when he used my gift to dodge his duties, and when I was sealed here, there wasn't anything I could do to punish him. He continuously eluded succumbing to the call of the grave so I bided my time and slowly rebuilt my power over the years. When he married your mother in the last few centuries, I had to give it to him: he was a cunning little bastard. Your mother served me, as well, and because she hadn't betrayed me until after I had been banished here, she retained her extended life. But it was his relation to her that kept them walled away from my power, and even more so when you and your sister were born. However, they couldn't hide forever, and he knew it.

"The night he told you of the family business, he had felt my power gathering to take him the next day while on the job. He used what little time he had left to insure his family knew of his love, and that you knew of the family business to pursue one day in a final act of defiance. The price he was forced to pay was the most delicious I have ever given anyone." Death's eyes gleamed with a deep, sick joy. He burned his gaze into Lightning as he said his next words. "I made you watch his death, and made him watch you watching him, and then when I took your mother as part of that punishment, I made him watch as she was mugged, beaten, and raped repeatedly. And then I made you watch it with him watching you watch it. It was _glorious!_"

Lightning's breath left her as she relived the events of first her father's, and then her mother's, deaths. She had known something unnatural had been at work that day when she had seen them happen from afar. But Death left her no time to process further; he swept back towards her and bent over her, rooting her to the spot. "I rather liked your mother. She had fire, _spirit,_ and a sharp tongue that lashed anyone who even remotely annoyed her. Never did she waver in her duties, always performing them exquisitely. Like you, she was a proper soldier. It is a shame I had to take her too - but she had her own price to pay after abandoning me in my cage."

Death moved away once again, chuckling with deep amusement. Lightning felt sick to her stomach - this thing had murdered her parents, made her watch as he did it, and was now wanting her to join him.. All she could think was _Monster_ over and over again. She stayed there for a long time, anger slowly building and coating her pain. Her hand clenched tightly on her gunblade and in a flash she was sprinting across the room before she had a chance to think of what she was doing. Death turned at the noise, and she raised her blade to thrust into his nonexistent heart. Murder shone in her eyes.

She pushed with a hateful cry and stabbed him straight through, her arm burrowing deep within. An inhuman shriek pierced the air the same time her arm and hand exploded in pain. A powerful blast knocked her flying away to land in a painful heap several feet away. Rolling over, she looked to see what damage she had done. A deep gouge glowed blue from where she had stabbed him, and as her eyes traveled up, she saw he was glaring at her. His voice rang out and grated on her ears, reverberating, no longer appeasing to her mortal ears, "You would **dare **attack _**me? **_You _pitiful_, _insignificant_, _**mortal?**_" Before she could even think to regret her actions, she was thrown mercilessly against a wall, the floor, a brazier. Her mind was consumed once again in the confusing whirl as Death's voice beat into her, emblazoning it into her very skin as the hard cobblestones broke her bones and splattered her blood.

"I am your _master_, human! **I **am your _destruction, _your _salvation,_ your _**owner.**_ You _**soul**_ is mine to keep, to _punish_ and _use_ how **I** see fit! You _will __**not **__**DEFY ME**__**!**_"

The haze in the air began to shimmer, the red glow intensifying. A whirlwind whipped through the area and Lightning couldn't breathe as the oxygen was sucked away. She slammed into the square pit in the middle of the room, gasping for breath as her lungs sought to cough up the blood that had seeped into her airways. Death pinned her still with his power and pressed down hard. Her organs slowly burst open, causing her to scream even as the whirlwind drowned it out. The air ignited into fire and mixed with the whirlwind to create a deadly firestorm. Flames rained down and burned her skin; a spark landed in her eye and made it bleed, blinding her. Confusion, hysteria, hatred: they were all she could focus on as every bit of her was consumed in dominating pain. The more Death spoke, the more her mind cracked and bled. He appeared before her and slowly unraveled his form. Death became not the Grim Reaper, but Death the fal'cie. Death the harbinger of destruction, the farrier of souls. The very last seams on her mind broke apart - mortal eyes were not meant to look upon the condemned and divine gods.

In it's native shape, Death took a piece of itself and sealed it within Lightning's mind. More pain erupted and she shrieked and screamed in agony, tears streaming ceaselessly down her face. Death stared disdainfully down at her before skillfully repairing her mind. It then cloaked it with a whisper of ultimate power and the knowledge of what was to come before sending her back to the mortal realm. As Lightning was finally granted peace and the pain stopped, only one thing echoed in her mind:

_War is coming. _


	14. The Beast Within

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it. _

The Beast Within

_Fang ducked behind a wall seconds before an explosion ripped through the nearby area, destroying everything in it's path. The wall she was crouched against shuddered violently and began to crumble, forcing her to desperately seek new shelter. Bullets ricocheted by her feet and knives flew past her head just inches from impaling her. Inhuman shrieks and the screams of the dying ripped apart the air, but she could not afford to look back. Fang forced herself to run faster, to reach relative safety before she, too, was ripped apart. Salvation presented itself in a scalable wall as she rounded a corner at high speed. The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps spurred her to action. Using her lance as a pole she vaulted over the wall and rolled before leaping up to begin running again. Her pursuers wasted no time in effortlessly jumping the wall themselves with clicks and growls of annoyance. It was a testament to their monstrosity. _

_Another explosion sent Fang sprawling to the ground. She cursed as the leading enemy dodged a falling building and pounced on her with a triumphant shrill of sound. As it descended, Fang counted her blessings that it was just the one - if even one more had gotten through, she would undoubtedly die. She brought her lance up just in time to block the wicked blade from skewering her intestines onto the ground. More clicks issued in irritation as the thing went for another strike, this time opening it's maw to pierce her soft throat. Throwing her head to the side barely in time, Fang switched her grip on her lance and elbowed the thing's face while simultaneously throwing all her weight up to toss it off. It went flying away with another shriek, and Fang wasted no time in rolling to her feet and throwing her lance into it's head. Dark shrouds of energy seeped out of the body and into the ground as it fell over, the corpse slowly disintegrating into nothing. Breathing heavily and with shaking hands, Fang gathered up her lance and continued on her way._

_The rest of the way was clear of enemies, leaving Fang ample time to mull over the chaos that had erupted without warning. The attacks had come from nowhere, without warning. Entire villages had fallen in minutes, all at the same time, long before any form of help could have been organized. Destruction and decay had swept through Gran Pulse like an unholy wild fire: unquenchable, uncontrollable, unstoppable. Oerba had remained untouched until a few short hours previous, when a horde unlike Fang had ever seen had risen from the ground in a cloud of death. The local militia had rallied and fended off the invasion through a nearby pass that allowed only a few enemies at a time through the gap until the Guardian Corps had been able to respond. A battle for survival had sprang from nowhere, and was now being fought in every corner of the world. _

_But the worst part was that the people had started turning on each other._

_After the initial attacks, the populace became anxious and jittery, loudly urging the Guardian Corps to do something about the strange monsters destroying their homes. When the military had not been very successful in fending off the attacks, the people had takens matters into their own hands. Driven by a profound terror so deep it robbed the mind of common sense, the people had formed mobs in the blink of an eye and troops sent to defend the remaining towns and villages were ambushed mercilessly. Factions rose from these rebellions and each actively sought out military bases to procur arms and ammo. These bases were effectively surrounded and trapped, left no way to call for help or escape. Caught by surprise and cut off from command, the soldiers stationed at any besieged base had done only what their instincts had told them to: survive. Wholescale slaughter was the result of this frenzied need to survive, to defend, and the insanity of a terrified mindset. Heavy losses occurred on both sides and a full scale civil war broke out. It was citizens against the military and monsters, the military desperately trying to defend anything left standing and fight off the invasions, the monsters out only for blood and destruction. War amongst the people, war against the invaders and their leader, Death._

_A vicious circle of death, betrayal, and trepidation. _

_Fang was brought back from her throughts by a deep _Crack_ing sound and another explosion that sent her flying several feet ahead of her. She choked out a cough when her arm broke her fall, and in the process, her bone. Smoke and debris caught in a shockwave hit her next, this time throwing her into a building. A sickening crack resounded as her head slammed into the concrete and her vision swam. Muttering curses under her breath, Fang summoned an intermediate healing spell to deal with her injuries. She sat leaning against the wall for several minutes as her strength steadily drained away. She was weary beyond belief - she had been fighting for days with little sleep and a deep-seated rage that boiled her blood. It was both her saving grace and Achille's heel, pushing her forever on to punish anything and everything that got in her way. Even now, as she sat injured and weak, the rage sang through her very core, demanding justice; demanding blood; demanding she tear apart every servant of Death she laid eyes upon._

_Someone was speaking to her, shaking her shoulder. Fang forced her eyes open, not realizing she had shut them, to see a young man in a Guardian Corps medic uniform. He was kneeling next to her and adding his strength to hers through his healing unit; an innovation made by the military after the enemies had started forming weapons of formidability and annihilation. He was speaking again, this medic, and Fang forced herself to listen. _

_"-alright, now?" he said, handing her an energy shot and helping her to her feet. "Commander Amodar sent me this way after the explosion - we need you on the frontlines." _

_Fang downed the shot - another necessary innovation made better by the wars - and instantly felt energy brimming at her fingertips again. She grinned ferally and motioned for the young man to lead the way. He jogged off without further preamble and Fang followed with blood-thirsty anticipation, eager to tear apart Death's minions. As they continued, Fang saw she had not been far when the explosion had ripped through the area. A group of soldiers were gathered on a platform near the entrance to the passageway where the main bulk of the army was fighting off the invasion. War machines and computers were stationed around the mini command center, and Fang instantly spotted Amodar directing orders to the engineers and pilots. The medic she had been following motioned her to continue on to the Commander, and went off towards a giant tent with the universal medic's sign emblazoned on the top. Amodar motioned her over as soon as he noticed her. _

_"Glad you're here, Fang," he greeted amiably, the relief in his voice evident. He shook her hand vigorously and gestured for her to follow him to a nearby console. "We need your help to coordinate a defense against the next wave," he explained, pointing to the screen. Fang saw a detailed map of the underlying earth in the passage in front of them and the valley beyond that. Amodar continued, "The enemy has nearly finished constructing a weapon that will take down our shields and render all of our defense systems useless. Our leading engineers you've seen at the camp have developed a prototype pulse bomb that will, hopefully, absorb the attack and reflect it in a backlash wave. They have only to put the finishing touches on it before it's ready to go, and we need to clear out that passage long enough for it to burrow underneath the earth, preferably just as they're about to activate their own weapon." He turned to Fang completely and began picking at his mustache. Fang knew what she had to do._

_"Alright there Commander, say no more," she said, smirking confidently. "You want me to get down in there and give your boys a hand in cleanin' up the riffraff and keep the way clear until that thing is down underway. Consider it done."_

_Amodar nodded and gripped her shoulder heartily in thanks, then began leading the way to the path into the passage. He handed her a dual shockwave and EMP grenade, one of the many prototypes the military had been forced to develop and release in the wake of the wars. "This will keep the entrance on the other side empty for a few minutes," he stated, his eyes dark with the unspoken high possibility of failure. "Hopefully it will provide you with enough time to get out of the way of the enemy's weapon. We'll alert you when it's about to fire so you can throw it and run like hell."_

_Fang nodded solemnly and hooked the grenade to her belt. Amodar gave her a few more standard grenades that they had discovered worked best against the strange monsters. She saluted him and was about to voice her farewell when the ground shook violently once more. Amodar shouted something in the deafening din and within a few seconds another, stronger shield was erected around the command center. The shaking of the ground was diminished greatly and everyone present was able to look up and gasp in combined despair and awe. An enormous mushroom cloud swallowed the sky and pushed into the boundaries of earth, air, and generated electricity. The shields immediately began to groan under the weight of power, and a powerful shockwave slammed into the command center. Fang thrust her lance into the ground and desperately hung on, eyes squeezed shut and ignoring the pain of dirt and debris tearing at her skin. Screams and the sickening squelch of squished human beings tore the air. Fang swallowed the bile that rose in her throat._

_It ended in a few seconds, though the whole thing had felt as if it had lasted hours. Fang released the grip on her weapon and gently scrubbed the dust and dirt from over her eyes before opening them. She bit her cheek in suppressed anger as she took in the state of the area. The whole place looked as if a raging behemoth herd had torn it apart: most of the consoles had been knocked over, the medic tent blown completely on it's side; the war machines had slammed into each other and the unfortunate engineers nearby. Almost all of the technicians were injured heavily, having been thrown into rocks and the war machines. Bodies littered the area, squished and torn apart, blood splattered everywhere and organs thrown around haphazardly. The shields were completely gone, and Amodar was nowhere in sight. Fang took a deep breath and forced herself to look at the valley beyond._

_A crater half the size of Cocoon burned and smoked with dark clouds of energy - Fang could only guess at the depth of it. The immediate area around it looked as if Titan himself had steamrolled through the rocky and mountainous terrain. Fang didn't have the heart to turn and see the state of Oerba behind her. Behind the crater, the mass of seething darkness that was Death's army waited contentedly. All of the enemies on Fang's side had been decimated by the blast. Her stomach lurched with hatred at the knowledge that Death threw his servants' lives away without a second's thought. She clenched her teeth together and ripped her lance from the ground, rage coursing through her once again. A prickling of her senses and the sudden feeling of forboding made her look up, stopping her unconscious advance on the valley. _

_At first glance, Fang would have said darkness incarnate was hovering above her, but as she continued to study it, she realized it was a portal of some sort. It's size was indeterminable, the colours a seething, twisting mass. A figure emerged and flew gently down on wings of abyssmal darkness and freshly spilt blood, beautiful and enrapturing. Glittering pink hair swayed in the passing wind, shining gloriously. A long cloak attatched to both shoulders the colour of night on one side, and the darkest blood on the other. Armor of the cruelest sort encompassed the feminine body - sharp spikes protruded from every conceivable point, all angles suited for brutality and violence. As the figure landed just a few feet in front of Fang, the colouring became apparent. It was onyx trimmed in red, splattered permanently with the brightness that signified life. Hard, inhuman eyes an impossibly bright shade of red, seeming to glow, regarded the Oerban with unveiled desire..and hatred. A sharp, jagged blade was clasped in the right hand, long and curved. The handle was pommeled with a glittering ruby, and the edge forever dripped with it's conquests. An ominous, siphoning aura surrounded the figure, and Fang could only choke on her breath in anguish and unbridled joy. _

_Lightning Farron advanced slowly on Fang, mouth curving into a ruthless smirk. She brought her once proud and noble gunblade around to touch Fang's chin with it's wicked tip. Her eyes were full of malice, gleaming unashamedly with bloodlust. Fang trembled beneath the touch, unable to force herself away and into a defensive stance. She was instantly lost in the crushing grip of the presence of her beloved, so changed and irrevocably gone. Lightning bared her teeth at Fang in a depraved smile, reaching up with a gauntleted hand to caress Fang's cheek. The Oerban closed her eyes and relished the touch, even as she felt a blade rip into her gut..._

* * *

Fang startled awake, blinking rapidly at the ceiling above. She slowly sat up and stared with wide eyes at the wall, clutching her head in one hand. Terror and despair were gripping her heart in a tight clamp, the reason for which not forthcoming for many minutes. When the memory of the dream finally hit her, she was suddenly aware of a strangled, erratic sound emanating throughout the room. She realized it was her, gasping out for breath as if she was dying. Fang forced her mouth shut and made herself breathe normally, eyes shooting towards the peacefully sleeping figure on the other couch. The beating of her heart slowly returned to normal as she assured herself that Lightning was right there, recovering uhindered, _not_ on Death's side in a world torn apart by war. Fang stood and walked over to the prone form, kneeling to clasp Lightning's hand lovingly and gently. A happy smile graced Fang's face as she watched Lightning slumber.

In a corner of her mind, Fang realized Serah must have laced her tea with something to make her sleep - the last thing she remembered was downing half her cup and watching Pyres stir some mixture. She wanted to both hug and put the youngest Farron into a headlock for doing that to her. But as she stroked Lightning's hand and thought logically on her dream, Fang knew it was something much more than a dream. It had been too detailed, too palpable. She frowned and closed her eyes, not wishing to think on the gravity of what had just occurred.

A hand resting on her shoulder made Fang glance up and see Pyres standing nearby, face unreadable. Fang looked back to Lightning and brushed those soft bang's out of the soldier's eyes. The hand on Fang's shoulder disappeared - Fang was grateful. She wanted to be alone with Lightning for awhile to temporarily settle her mind and soothe her fears. Her hope that Pyres had left was shattered when the woman spoke and broke the comforting silence.

"Something is troubling you," Pyres stated, moving silently behind the couch Lightning was resting upon to face the Oerban. Fang didn't respond, continuing instead to stroke Lightning's hand. Pyres raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. It was such a Lightning-esque gesture that Fang laughed bitterly and without humour. She stood and mimicked the woman, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. Pyres held her ground and waited patiently for Fang to crack, a tactic that had always worked in the past. The strategy held true, and soon Fang scowled and angrily stalked towards the couch she had been sleeping on earlier. Pyres' lips quirked into a small smile before following Fang's example and sitting across from her in a giant chair.

"What's it to _you?_" Fang grumbled, still scowling. Even though the woman had helped Lightning, Fang was still incredibly wary of her. Pyres only crossed her legs and clasped her hands in front of her, gray eyes boring endlessly in Fang's own emeralds. Fang ground her teeth together, frustrated that Pyres was using strategies that had always worked in the past, and still did when Lightning enforced them. Fang didn't want to be known so well by this woman who had saved her, who had been Fang's object of idolization for many years, who had betrayed and hurt a guileless and young Fang. The suffocating emotions swirling in her chest made Fang want to cry and scream her frustrations at the woman sitting across from her. But she couldn't, and she wouldn't.

Fang stood and paced restlessly, refusing to look Pyres in the eyes. "It's none of your concern," she growled, staring hard at the ground. "Absolutely none of your bloody fucking concern. You think you can just show up outta nowhere after all these years like nothin's happened, like I've forgiven you and everything's just bloody well peachy?" Fang stopped and whirled suddenly to glare hatefully at Pyres. "Well, that ain't fucking happenin'. I'm grateful to you for savin' Lightnin' and explainin' all that about Death, but now that you've done your part you need to GET. THE. FUCK. OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

Pyres returned her glare calmly, a flash of sadness flickering in her eyes. But it was gone as soon as Fang blinked, and the Oerban watched as the planes of Pyres' face became harder, more angular, the set of her mouth more callous. Her eyes crunched in on themelves slightly, and as she stood, the stance of body and the way she moved was supremely confident. Arrogant. Apathetic. Fang's heart dropped into her stomach as she realized what she had just caused, of what she just unleashed. The anger that had been searing her heart just a moment ago was completely doused, replaced by a burgeoning fear.

Pyres stalked towards her slowly, a cruel glint in her eyes. Fang felt a sickening twist in her gut as she remembered the endless amount of times Pyres had done just this so many years ago. Pyres had once tried to explain a part of it to Fang after a particularly..painful episode, in apology. Fang had never been the same, and while it did little to change her feelings at the time, it was too confusing to make much sense. Pyres had said that too many pieces of her were lost, fragmented, distorted and warped by an occupation she had been forced to live. Compensation results in a darker, brutal side of her, a side that revels in the brutalizing of others and the shedding of blood. To dance with the other half is to dance with pain itself. It is both a part of her, and it is not. Being too incomprehensible to the young Fang, it had been drowned under the confusing swirl of unholy adoration and agonizing pleasure. There was Pyres as herself, and then there was Pyres as a pitiless and cold-blooded goddess: all-powerful, all-consuming. To deny her who demands everything is to embrace death.

Fang's stomach twisted harder as Pyres wrapped her hand around Fang's upper arm in a steel grip and pulled her close. The woman clutched Fang at a distance of helplessness and submission. Her head dipped low and snaked up Fang's neck in a slow inhalation of scent. A tongue licked up Fang's ear next, an action that caused Fang to shiver both in fear and pleasure - two things she realized dishearteningly she had missed deeply. _Etro help me._ "I've missed you, Fang," Pyres whispered seductively, tightening her grip. Fang winced but otherwise stood still. Trying to fight her off would result in bad things. Pyres's hands left her but she stood immobilized, only able to move her eyes and speak. The woman stepped back and sauntered around her in a slow, lazy circle. Calculating. Devouring. It was all Fang could do not to whimper.

Fang was suddenly pushed back into the wall, Pyres' hand wrapped tightly around her throat. Fang gasped and sputtered uselessly, clutching at the vice-like grip. "I love it when the prey struggles," Pyres whispered, grinning maniacally. Fang tried to swallow and mostly failed. She was at the mercy of Pyres, this beast within. "You know you love it, _Fang_," Pyres breathed, licking her way Fang's cheek. She loosened her grip on Fang's neck just enough that Fang could breathe again, and the Oerban coughed gratefully as she gulped down air. She choked the next moment as she felt a hand rubbing and groping her breast roughly, causing her to squirm helplessly against the wall. For all Fang's strength, Pyres was stronger. Always.

"Pyres," Fang coughed, deciding it best to try and halt the woman's advancement in spite of any highly possible punishment. Part of her was crying out for it to continue, to be taken and ravished violently. This part of her deeply troubled Fang, and she knew she needed to stop things. _Now_. The hand on her breast moved lower, and Fang couldn't breathe for several seconds. "_Pyres_...s-stop," she tried, weakly trying to push the woman away. Pyres only sniggered and continued her ministrations, causing Fang to groan loudly. When she went further and pushed into the Oerban, Fang gasped aloud and clutched at the arm holding her throat, digging her nails into the luscious skin. "I said stop," Fang growled, eyes narrowed. Pyres finally looked up to sneer at her, but stopped when she saw the look in Fang's eyes. Fang watched Pyres blink once, twice, and before Fang could blink herself, she was on the receiving end of a hard fist to the stomach.

Fang collasped to the ground, clutching her gut in pain and trying to breathe. Pyres left without another word, her steps quick and poignant. For awhile Fang just lied there, letting the pain slowly fade to a dull ache and the fire in her stomach to die. She slowly stood when she felt she could handle it and moved back towards the couch to flop down onto it. So many things were running through her mind - everything about her was in turmoil. She burrowed her head into the cushions and desperately tried to sort everything out.

Despite her past love for Pyres, Fang loved Lightning. Completely and utterly, with all her being and soul. But as she thought on the encounter with the darker side of Pyres, a sense of despair slowly crept into her heart. She realized she still had feelings for the complicated woman, a fact she didn't admit easily. Even after all these years and the hurt Pyres had inflicted, Fang still loved her. _Damn that woman._ But even worse, Fang craved her touch like she craved Lightning's. Her next thought made Fang's heart stop and a sob to work it's way up her throat: Did she only love Lightning because of her feelings for Pyres? They were, after all, related and nearly identical in every way. Fang vigorously shook her head against the cushion and took deep breaths. That couldn't be it. It just couldn't. She hated Pyres _deeply_ in spite of her more benevolent and desirous feelings towards the woman. _I love Lightning for her, not for her similarites and link with Pyres. Besides, I didn't even make the connection until Pyres showed up, _after_ I fell in love with Lightning._

Fang refused to note that she didn't sound very convincing, even in her own mind.

"Erm, Fang, are you..alright?" Vanille's asked, close to her ear. Fang jumped and turned to face her adoptive sister with wide eyes. Vanille was standing hesitantly by the couch, eyes uncertain, and biting her lip. Fang instantly sat up and regarded her with concern. "I'm fine - are _you_ alright, Vanille?" she inquired, noting the way Vanille slowly moved to sit by her. The young woman didn't respond for several moments, fiddling with her clasped hands and gazing dejectedly down at her lap. Fang's sense tuned only to Vanille shot through the roof, all previous transgressions between the two forgotten. "Vanille?" she asked again, moving closer to her younger sister. Vanille finally looked up and locked eyes with Fang. She took a deep breath and braced her hands on either side of her on the couch.

"We..I think we need to talk, Fang," she finally responded, voice subdued and very quiet.

Fang's stomach twisted around itself with a lurch, and she barely resisted shuddering. "About what, 'Nille? You know you can talk to me about anything, you don't have to be so fearful 'bout it. If it's about earlier when I yelled at you-"

Vanille smiled uncertainly and took another deep breath. "Well, ah..that's kinda what I wanted to talk about." She poked her two pointer fingers together slowly, not looking Fang in the eye. "Not..because you yelled at me, I know it was my fault for disobeying you in the first place, but..I.. I just don't understand why you made me swear not to go there ever again." She bit her lip again and looked away from her hands towards the table near the couch. "A-and I think we should talk about Pyres, also."

_Oh, fuck. _

* * *

_A/N: I hope I didn't confuse you too terribly with the beginning. I wanted to use this chapter to give you a taste of what's to come, to flesh out the relationship between Pyres and Fang while giving you something else to mull over, and establish a Love/Hate thing with Pyres. Perfect characters are a bore - it's the ones that make you leap for joy and curse in anger that really mean something. Anyway, this long wait is due to a long string of things. This posting (finally) was brought about by great and sudden motivation..from playing GoW 3. Mmhm, I know, seems a little off to get motivation for a fanfiction of one game from another, right? But honestly, war's a'coming, and the whole GoW series is about vengeance, killing, atonement, and, well..more killing. Who doesn't enjoy ripping into foes in such powerful, rage-driven ways? It helped me establish a link of emotion in this chapter - I've felt communicating the emotions the characters are feeling was severely lacking, hence why I popped in one of the most angry games ever. Part of why it took me so long was because I was suddenly having trouble with tenses and I felt I needed to work on getting the inner emotions across. I think I accomplished that to some extent, and will continue to work on it... Hopefully successfully. I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter shouldn't take as long - I'll have oodles of freetime soon to waste away to my heart's content. _


	15. The Anger Shall Run

The Anger Shall Run

Serah watched curiously as Pyres exited the living room and left the house through the kitchen door, an angry expression on her face. Continuing down the stairs, Serah crossed the foyer and peeked into the main room. Fang was curled into a ball on the ground, breathing heavily; Serah deduced something must have happened between the two, and, seeing as how Fang was alright, she decided to follow Pyres. With quick, quiet footsteps, she walked across the kitchen and out the door into the backyard, grabbing her jacket and putting it on as she passed the coat rack. The weather was still dreary, but Serah managed to spot Pyres standing under the large pavillion situated near a giant tree. Serah approached Pyres slowly, giving the woman ample time to hear her coming and leave if she felt no desire to speak to the youngest Farron. Pyres did not move away, however, so Serah proceeded until she was standing next to the woman.

The rain had all but gone away, leaving only a very faint drizzle. Nevertheless, dark clouds lingered and hovered ominously overhead, seeming to press down suffocatingly. Pyres was watching those clouds with sharp eyes, interest thinly veiled in her eyes. Either she was unfamiliar with Gran Pulse rain spells - very unlikely, Serah thought with a frown, given the woman's history - or something was up with the persistent precipitation that no one else had realized. Whichever it was, Serah felt Pyres would speak to them about it if it was important so she let the matter slide for the moment. Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back and gazed imploringly up at the woman so like her own sister.

"Pyres," she said gently, "is everything okay?"

There was no reply at first - Pyres just continued to stare up at the sky with that calculating look. Serah did not press, letting the other organize her thoughts; it was something she always did with Lightning. A faint breeze stirred the air with it's chilling breath, raising goosebumps on Serah's flesh. She shivered and clutched her thin jacket closer, vainly trying to shut out the cold. Pyres was unaffected despite her more..revealing attire. Serah sniffled as she waited, prompting Pyres unexpectedly to finally turn and look down at her. Without a word, she removed her long cloak and draped it over Serah's smaller frame, engulfing the youngest Farron in it's swallowing warmth. Serah gratefully sighed and opened her mouth to voice her thanks, but the lingering hands on her shoulders stopped her. The look on Pyres' face was wistful with a touch of sadness, her mind in another time.

She spoke softly, running a hand through Serah's hair with a tenderness that baffled the young Farron. "I had a sister, you know. You are just like her.." Pyres continued to stroke Serah's hair before stopping abruptly and dropping her hand. She cleared her throat and looked away uncomfortably. It endeared her to Serah, seeing this new side to the charismatic, sly woman. _More and more the similarities between her and Lightning grow. Is it really that possible with so many centuries of a gap, despite being family? _Serah smiled warmly up at Pyres, moving into her line of sight. Pyres shifted her feet and crossed her arms, looking anywhere but at Serah.

After several minutes she finally broke the silence, "I..am sorry I did that. It has just been a very long time since I have..." She trailed off, pain flickering in her eyes. "Since I have seen my sister. The manner in which she was..taken..from me," she paused again, clenching her jaw. Pyres took a deep breath and focused her eyes on Serah's. "Forgive me, Serah. My social skills are severely lacking. It has been a very, very long time since I have interacted with anyone I would consider..a friend." She turned away again and ran a hand through her own hair. "My actions were rude and untimely."

Serah cocked her head as she listened to Pyres, growing more and more concerned. "It's quite alright, Pyres." She leaned forward and took the woman's hands in her own, much to Pyres' surprise. "You're so much like Claire, too, you know. Stubborn, strong, uncomfortable with emotions - one can only guess what will happen when the two of you meet." Serah smiled sweetly. "If anything, I was only surprised by what happened. This sudden sense of propriety is confusing, yes, but-"

Serah was cut off by the sound of things breaking from inside, followed by an angry voice. Pyres and Serah shared a look, uncomprehension on their faces. The sound of things breaking continued, and the voice got louder, until suddenly it was screaming ugly, insulting things. Serah's ears turned red. Pyres began to head back inside to investigate, Serah in her wake. She handed the cloak back wordlessly with a quietly-voiced _Thank you_ before entering the mayhem that had erupted in the living room.

* * *

Fang blew out a long breath and rubbed a hand over her face. "What's first, then?"

Vanille scratched her neck. "Well, I figure we'll hit upon our fight to start with, since that came before Pyres."

"Right," Fang muttered to herself. Pushing herself up straighter, she stood and began pacing. Vanille recognized it as a sign of unease. "Well," Fang began, "it related to Pyres, actually. Our fight, I mean." Her face tightened in frustration. "That cottage belonged to her, 'Nille, and her sister. They both lived a very long time ago, as you know, and built that in the days before..whatever the hell The Fall was. What you don't know is that I know Pyres from our time as children and the beginnings of adulthood." Vanille gasped in shock, eyes wide. Fang ran a hand through her hair near violently. "You remember how I came to Oerba as a young sprite with too much anger to hold in, 'Nille? Pyres was the one that saved my life. She was the one that saved me from those damned Vipers who destroyed my entire fucking village." She threw one of the wooden tables over, the sudden cacophonous noise tearing throughout the house. Vanille jumped and squeaked, growing more uneasy herself by the minute. It had been a long time since she'd seen this side of her sister, and the situation was growing more and more unfamiliar. She didn't like it.

Fang began pacing more urgently, her muscles clenching and releasing, coiling for attack against things that weren't there. Her breaths were coming fast and hard, her hands begininng to clutch continually at her head. "Pyres is the reason I'm still living and breathing and fucking _angry_. I almost wish we had never found her fal'cie-be-damned home, it was the fucking reason she came back." She turned and strode towards the overturned table, kicking it in one vehement stroke. It lifted off the ground and flew to the other side of the room, crashing high against the wall with a loud _Crack_ before falling to the ground with a _Thump_. Vanille jumped again at the violence, unsure of what to make of display. Fang was not finished, however, so she kept quiet.

"She knew we had been there when she next returned to it, prompting to her come back and throw a fucking wrench in my life. Damn it, Vanille, that woman is so.._so._.argh!" Fang cried out, tearing at her hair again. "She saved my life, she gave me a reason to live, taught me invaluable skills as a majorly fucked up child, and then just dumped me off at the village like I was baggage." She picked up a vase of flowers and threw it hard. Vanille nearly screamed at the crashing sound it made. "That woman is _insufferable, vile, _and so downright fucking _manipulative_ andandand _so damned __**heartbreakingly beautiful**_ that I could just.. _Rip her treacherous heart out!"_ Fang punched the wall, her fist going deep into the hard stone. She howled in rage and tried wrenching her arm out, screaming obscenities concerning 'pink-haired seductresses', 'bitches from the past,' and 'psycho side-personalities.' Vanille didn't even know where to start, refusing to think on the 'heart-breakingly beautiful' part of the original rant. If anything, she would think for the moment that Fang meant that because Pyres looked like Light that she would be just as beautiful. _Or something like that..._

Through Fang's continued efforts, Pyres and Serah appeared from the kitchen. Serah ran over to Vanille and the youngest Oerban did her best to gesticulate what had happened. Pyres swiftly walked over to Fang and removed her arm from the wall with a single, powerful yank. Fang immediately turned towards Pyres and tried to hit her with her other fist. Pyres blocked it and twisted Fang to where her back was towards the older woman, arms crossed and held from behind by Pyres. Fang immediately began to struggle, kicking up her legs and pressing her entire weight backwards. She continued yelling curses and insults.

"Lemme go, you stupid twit! By Etro, I swear that I will fucking mess you up for all that _shit_ you did to me all those years ago! Damn it, I mean it! You're nothin' but a damned _lunatic_ and _cruel __**bitch**_ with a heart of stone so thick and uncrushable, even Titan wouldn't be able ta break it! I hope you fucking _choke_ on your own lies and fucking deceitfulness!"

Serah and Vanille were appalled at Fang, not able to reconcile this sudden switch from the easy-going, laidback, and kind Fang with this raving, angry beast hellbent on the destruction of Lightning's ancestor with no regard for the consequences. Her eyes were wild and hard, spittle flying from her mouth with every word. Pyres held fast to Pulsian as she fought and squirmed, never giving a flicker of emotion. In Fang's fury, she didn't notice the fact that her hand was mangled and bleeding, or take note of what she had done to her home. As her battle with Pyres was proving to be in vain, she tugged harder and more forcefully against the binding grip of the woman she so hated. Red stained her vision, covering the world in a film of blood.

_Blood._

In a flash, Fang ceased her struggles and realization struck like a bolt of lightning. Memories of her transformation into Ragnarok and the ensuing death and destruction raged across her mind. The screams, the fires, the utter obscurement of her values and beliefs, of her morals and desires. All of it had been buried under the sheer rage and pain of Ragnarok. Fang began to shake, her senses coming back to her. She could now feel the aching pain of her hand, could hear her erratic breathing and the steady flow of Pyres', could see the frightened expressions on both Serah's and Vanille's faces. _What have I done?_ Her knees gave out and if it wasn't for Pyres supporting her, she would have curled into a ball upon the cold, hard floor.

All eyes were drawn towards the couch, however, as Lightning began to move. Her eyes were still closed, but her face was scrunched in pain and she was twisting around. Fang ran over to her side - having been released by Pyres the moment she felt the Pulsian regain control of herself - and kneeled, staring intensely at her. Lightning started to shudder, slightly at first and then more strongly, until Fang was all but hovering over the woman in worry. Just as she was about to scream at Pyres to do something, Lightning ceased shuddering and let out a slow breath. Her eyes opened with a single flick - no slow fluttering, no flickering of the eyelids. They were just open, and were now staring intently at Fang.

Fang blinked uncomprehendingly down at those azure eyes she loved so much before launching herself at the woman. Lightning, the unfortunate soul on the receiving end of the Fang's affection, could only let out an _oomph_ before being suffocated by Fang's crushing hug. "Light! You're okay! You're really okay.." Fang began to blubber, practically smashing the woman to herself. Lightning lifted an arm to pat her love awkwardly, struggling to get air in her lungs. "Fang," she whispered breathily, "I..can't...breathe!" Fang's eyes widened and she instantly leaped off of the soldier, hovering worringly and rapidly questioning if Lightning was okay.

Lightning took a deep breath and sat up, ignoring Fang's overabundance of TLC. She examined her injured arm, interested in the much smaller wound that had become of her growing problem before falling into that..dream. It was now just a normal cut, no more oozing dark fluid or bleeding. _Curious._ She flexed her hand experimentally and found no twinge of discomfort. The sudden quiet alerted Lightning that Fang had quit babbling. Looking up, Lightning saw that Fang was now shuffling her weight and and rubbing her neck, gaze glued to the floor. Lightning's suspicion flared. "Fang," she said, noting how Fang twitched near imperceptibly at her name, "how did you heal my arm?"

Fang grimaced. "Ah, well, ya see, Light, I uh.." she paused, and gestured wildly and everywhere with her hands, still not looking at her, "did...stuff."

Lightning lifted an eyebrow. "Clearly. In that case, _who_ healed me?"

Fang flinched visibly this time and took a step back, looking at the wall to her right. She bit her lip and crossed her arms. "Well that was ah, an old..friend of mine- I mean, that was, um.."

She was cut off as Pyres moved in front of Lightning. Grey eyes clashed with narrowed blue, Lightning's body tensing for a fight. A battle of wills ensued, a push and take. Fang took the silence to keep explaining, "Ah! This is..this is who helped you, Light, she's a real..real character..._real_ helpful, I mean she completely helped you outta whatever coma you were stuck in and didn't even ask for thanks, she just showed up and..explained some stuff, and well, you ought to know she's -"

"_Fang,_" Lightning said harshly, interjecting Fang's incessant babbling.

Fang gulped and blurted out the words she swore she'd never say, "...my ex."

Lightning's eyes widened and she immediately jumped off the couch and rounded on Fang. "_What?_"

Fang's own eyes widened in fear and she took a small step back. "My..ex?" she squeaked, hoping to all of Lady Luck's goodwill that Lightning would not explode.

Her prayers went unanswered.

Lightning was on her in an instant, her sari gripped tightly and those beautiful, haunting eyes were cold and hard. "You mean to tell me that this person, who you say just showed up out of nowhere, who just so happens to look almost _exactly_ like me, is your _ex?_" Lightning shook Fang jarringly, paying no mind to the bloodied and broken state of Fang's hand. Fang was saved a reply when Pyres chuckled behind Lightning, drawing the attention and accompanying ire of the soldier. Lightning thrust Fang aside, sending her stumbling into Serah and Vanille - both still sitting dumbfounded on the other couch - and turned to face Pyres. "Do you have something to say to me?" she snarled.

Pyres merely shrugged and raised an eyebrow at the other woman. "Do you?"

"Don't toy with me," she growled, clenching her fists at her sides. "Where did you come from and what are you doing in my home?"

"Saving your life - and potentially the existence of everything else alive - but don't take my word for it. You _obviously_ know a threat when you see one." Pyres smirked mockingly, daring Lightning to retaliate. Lightning tensed and glared hatefully at the other woman, prompting Fang to jump in between them.

"Hey! Let's just..all calm down now," she soothed, arms held out to the two. "Things are tense, I get it, but do you _really_ have to fight over me?" Fang managed a suave grin and smoothe waggle of her eyebrows despite her obvious anxiousness and unease. Lightning clenched her jaw and mimicked Pyres' stance, crossed arms and all. Pyres just continued to smirk irritatingly. Fang breathed a sigh of relief when Lightning kept herself in check and refrained from attacking the other woman. "Now, Lightning, there _are_ some things you missed while you were..asleep. Pyres is here to help, and has explained many things, such as what's going on what's causing it."

"I know about Death, Fang, you don't have to talk down to me like I'm some child," Lightning spat, continuing to glare at Pyres. "What I _would_ like to know is why the hell she's still here and just what kind of sick joke you're playing at - or did you just think I wouldn't notice, _dearest_?"

Lightning's animosity was deeply surprising to Fang, but it was Pyres who suddenly frowned and walked towards the soldier. "You know about Death?" Her expression darkened and she grabbed the already-dangerous Lightning and shook her. "What happened while you were unconscious? Tell me!"

Lightning never took well to being manhandled, and so when Pyres invaded her space and started shaking her of all things, she snapped. Her fist crashed into Pyres' face in the blink of an eye, sending the woman crashing into the table in the middle of room. Vanille and Serah squeaked in unison, and Fang looked on in astonishment. Pyres slowly sat up and touched the cut on her cheek from Lightning's anti-grav glove. "Don't you _ever_ touch me again," Lightning threatened, her expression murderous. Pyres stood up and strode back over to Lightning. To everyone's horror, she slapped Lightning and sent her sprawling on the floor. "Stupid girl, you have no idea of the implications of your trip to Death's domain, do you?" Pyres said darkly, tone chiding. Silence reined heavily, the three bystanders waiting with baited breath to see how their solider would react. Lightning glanced up for but a moment before launching at Pyres in a blur Fang had rarely witnessed. They crashed backwards onto the table, and before anyone could even breathe, an all out brawl erupted between the two women.

Lightning trapped Pyres beneath her and started unloading punches into her face, pounding mercilessly for a few seconds before being thrown off and toppled in an instant. They struggled against one another, each seeking dominance over the other. Pyres caught Lightning in the stomach with a well-timed knee, forcing all the breath out of the soldier. It gave Pyres the opening she needed to trap Lightning from behind with her legs and grasp her in a chokehold. Lightning wrapped her hands around the arm held like iron against her throat and dug her nails in, pulling down simultaneously.

Fang's mouth hung open at the sight of the two women she loved fighting and rolling around with all the hate in the world. She managed to shake herself enough to remove Pyres' weapon from the equation before Lightning managed to get out of Pyres' chokehold - Lightning's own blade was still upstairs, after all, where it had been left. Keeping the odds balanced was a good way to go, though Fang couldn't help but wonder why Pyres wasn't using her powers, or Lightning her magic. _Maybe they just feel like they need to beat the shit out of the other. _Either way, Fang was grateful for the hand-to-hand beat out and ushered the two other girls to move out of the immediate way of danger. Vanille wordlessly healed Fang's hand as they watched nervously.

Meanwhile, Lightning was succeeding in breaking Pyres' hold. The older woman made up for it by squeezing her tightly around the middle with her legs. Lightning's ribs began to groan under the pressure, but she refused to give up. With a cry, she thrust her hand palm up at the elbow of the arm against her throat, causing the chokehold to end immediately. Lightning twisted without hesitation and bent around the other woman to avoid a second hold while she broke the one around her middle. She grabbed the area where the kidneys should be and squeezed hard, making Pyres yelp in pain and loosen her legs just a tiny bit. Before Lightning could take advantage of it, however, Pyres in turn brought her elbow down hard on the middle of Lightning's back. Lightning choked and broke her grip on Pyres' kidneys. Pyres wrapped her arms around Lightning and threw her over backwards, causing the soldier's head to slam into the floor and broken bits of table about.

Lightning's head began to swim fuzzily, leaving her open to attack. Pyres jumped on her and held her down, unleashing her own onslaught of punches on the soldier's face. Lightning quickly became bloodied and, absolutely refusing to give in, managed to throw a quick, painful elbow to Pyres' nose. The blow both broke the nose and stunned the older woman as she tried to stem the flow of blood. In an amazing show of flexibility, Lightning got her legs up to Pyres' head and, with a quick squeeze, she got a grip and threw the woman backwards into the couch, skimming over the already-broken table on her way. Lightning sat up and coughed up blood, standing up slowly. Pyres slowly stood up herself and wiped at the blood on her face. They stared each other down for a long time, each using the time to catch their breath, before brawling once more.

On the sidelines, Fang could only clutch her head in exasperation and anxiety. _Bloody hell, this is just..augh! _"I gotta end this," she muttered to herself. "They might just end up beating each other into a fucking coma, or even into the damned ground!" But how would she manage that?

* * *

_A/N: Ooo, things are getting heated. I was getting tired of explanations, conversations, and blah blah blah-ness. So, you got a little action in this chapter! Though, honestly, Pyres and Lightning just clash because they're so much alike and yet so different. It was bound to happen anyway. I had to let this marinate for awhile, let the idea slowly grow upon itself. Also, there were games to play, the spark of an old friendship thought long forgotten (still wrapping my head around that too O_O it's just so..zomg), and all the other schtuff that bounces around in my head. In other news, I am planning on going back and doing my edits and fixer-uppers on the previous chapters. Someday soon, hopefully. The first chapter is just awful: so vague, no environmental details, just a single conversation. Granted, I had never thought it would go this far so the first chapter was intentionally made the way it is. But now it needs revising. I'll keep you updated. P.S. I'm putting in a little tidbit from a piece I cut out of chapter twelve because it didn't fit and I wasn't ready just yet to dive into the complexity of Pyres (if you don't remember, chapter twelve is the chapter where Fang remembers the destruction of her village and being saved by Pyres). It takes place at the end of the chapter - enjoy!_

* * *

Pyres, busy mixing more powders with the boiling water Serah had provided, paused as she felt a slight shift in Fang's aura. She turned around to see her slumped over, practically asleep with the cup of tea Serah had brought cradled within her hands. Pyres felt, not for the first time, a deep regret of what she had done to Fang when the huntress had been young and impressionable. She held no hope that Fang still loved her as she did - she was Lightning's now for the rest of their days. Pyres would save Lightning if it killed her, even if it meant letting Fang have the happiness she had never been able to give her.

She turned back towards her equipment and continued mixing. The boiling water was perfoming in exactly the way she had planned. With efficiency born of practice, she expertly cut and crushed fine crystals into dust before casting a simple frost spell to cool them over. She then threw them in the water and began shaking the mixture vigorously. The temperature changed rapidly from one end of the spectrum to the next, bouncing back and forth between molten heat to burning freeze. Pyres kept at it until she felt something change and begin to evolve. Reflexes quicker than lightning, she immediately set it down and shot a jolt of electricity into the compound to freeze it in its state of metamorphosis. What had started as a mere average solution was now a masterful elixir, glowing and sparkling with power and potency. It was perfect.

Now that that was complete, it was time to acquire the third and final ingredient. She set the elixir down by the first mixture and walked towards Fang. The surrounding energies whispered she was dreaming of her; of the better days before Pyres had moved in and effectively stole her childhood. She allowed herself a moment of weakness and let her fingers wander through the wild, dark hair she had once clutched in ecstasy. Her mind wandered towards better, and worse times.. - _In the darkness of the abandoned building, Fang screamed in abandon, lost in pleasure_ - until she reminded herself there were things do. The moment passed and she retracted her hand, placing it instead on Fang's shoulder. "Fang," she said, lightly poking and caressing the dark skin. Fang's eyes instantly fluttered open, blinking in confusion before settling upon Pyres. The look in her eyes said it all: she hated, _hated_, Pyres..and yet still cared. A delicious irony.

"Fang," she stated again, face carefully neutral. It wouldn't do to give lie to her feelings so early in the game. But soon..soon, the fun would begin. "We need to acquire the final material for Lightning's cure."

Fang raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch. "An' what's that?"

Pyres bent over her again, deliberately breathing in her face. "I need a sample of Lightning's blood, untainted, and a sample of the infectors that attacked you earlier today."


	16. My Love, My Sweet

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII, or anything to do with it. _

_My Love, My Sweet, _

The fight had escalated to actual combat, complete with lethal intent on both sides. Neither held back in their endeavours to harm, maim, and knockout the other. Fang was quickly growing beyond exasperated from the sidelines - the living room had become a damnable warzone. All the tables were broken and scattered everywhere, the couches and chairs tipped over - some were completely torn apart. The main things remained untouched, thankfully, and Fang was grateful for that. However, if she didn't come up with something soon to break them apart, there wouldn't be any house left to save. Vanille was busy keeping the damaging blows between the combatants from becoming fatal, and Serah had run off to fetch her phone to call Snow. _Why the bloody hell she needs to talk to that idiot at a time like this..._ Fang shook her head and ran through her ideas again.

If she simply jumped into the fray herself, the two would either beat her out of the way or just go around her. If she threw something to get their attention and attempt to talk sense into the two, she would only draw their fire. If she just started screaming at the top of her lungs, Pyres would shut her up and Lightning would take that chance to cause some actual harm. If she had Vanille try casting Aeroga, not only would it destroy the living room, but it would make Lightning seriously pissed. Fang rubbed the top of her forehead with her palm, frustrated. "There just can't be an easy solution," she muttered. Serah chose that moment to reappear, skipping merrily to stand beside Fang despite the ongoing destruction in the adjoining room.

"Serah, what are you so bloody happy about?" Fang asked incredulously. Serah merely shook her head and began humming, watching Pyres and Lightning fight without paying any attention. Fang shook her head for what felt like the thousandth time that day. The sound of yet _another_ piece of furniture being broken tore Fang's attention towards the living room. She whipped her head around to see the main couch tore in half, Pyres standing from the wreckage and flinging herself back at Lightning. Furious, Fang clenched her jaw and forced air through her nose. _That's it. _Without a second thought, she summoned a Ruinga spell in her hand threw it between the combatant women. They were caught off guard in the pressurized explosion and sent flying apart to crash into the already battered walls. Fang strolled into the room in the sudden lull, hands placed menacingly on her hips. "That's enough, you two!" she commanded, eyeing both Farrons with a hard glare. "You're both actin' like a bunch of hormonal teenagers that can't control a lick of your own damned emotions. Can we talk about this civilly, at least?"

Lightning had the decency to at least look a bit sheepish, leaving Pyres to remain stone-faced and avoid Fang's eyes. They stood slowly and attempted to brush themselves off, but the attempt was in vain: they were just covered in too much debris and dust. Fang remained where she was, eyebrow cocked, waiting for some semblance of a reply as she leveled her gaze evenly between the two women. Lightning cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair, looking at the floor. Pyres crossed her arms and looked out of a nearby window, silent. Fang's other eyebrow joined her first in the continuing stillness. When nothing more was offered up, and the quiet became oppressive, Fang sighed and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and pointer. "Alright," she muttered, "if we're gonna act like children, I guess we'll just have to deal with it that way." Crossing her own arms, she addressed Pyres first. "You, missy, will go cool your head down somewhere aside from my home, and I don't wanna see you before the moment you're levelheaded. I will personally kick your assuming ass out of here if you so much as _try_ to dispute that. Call it a time-out if you want," she sneered, daring the woman to push her. Pyres continued to remain mute, however, so Fang turned to face Lightning. "You, my love, will do the same. But very, very far away from Pyres, and when you get back, you and I will have a little chat. Is that clear?"

Lightning ran another hand through her hair and nodded. She turned and left the destroyed living room through the front door, passing a stunned Serah and Vanille on her way out. Pyres merely turned on her heel and left out the back, her departure quiet as a ghost. Fang deflated the minute they were gone, shoulders slumping in exhaustion. The past two days had been one hell of a rollercoaster, and the fact that she hadn't slept much only added to her fatigue. A high-pitched squeal followed by a small body flinging itself at her jolted Fang out of her slump and sent her tumbling to the ground with an _oomph._ Vanille was clutching her tightly, babbling at a barely coherent rate.

"_Ooo_, Fang! That was so _awesome!_ You totally put those two in place, did you see their faces? They were completely surprised you had the balls to do that and I can't believe openly insulted them like that, what if they get back at you when they get back, or _worse_, Lightning won't let you _have_ _any_ for weeks! _Oooph, _that'd be just terrible.."

Fang sputtered as Vanille continued ranting with her face buried in Fang's middle. She opened her mouth to cut her off, but a strange feeling made the words die before they were born. It had been a long time since Vanille had clutched her like this, rambled lovingly like this. Fang felt awful for their argument earlier and for blowing up at the young Pulsian. A mixture of guilt and warmth spread through her as she closed her mouth and simply held Vanille to her protectively, gently. She watched the young woman with tender eyes, letting herself bask in the moment with her dear sister. _I'll love you forever, Vanille. _

* * *

The rest of the day went on uneventfully. Fang and Vanille stayed in their embrace for a long time after Vanille had finally finished her exuberant gushing. They had both chattered idly and said nothing at all, just simply letting themselves be sisters, to be drawn back into the days when all they had had was each other. Serah, during this time, had left them and given the gift of the privacy. The whole thing was ruined, however, when Snow had unwittingly barged through the front door, loudly proclaiming his greeing to Serah. He had failed to notice the two Pulsians curled up in the destroyed living room until after he had crossed the threshold and felt the burning glare of an enraged Fang. Amazingly, it had only taken a few seconds for Snow to realize the threat to himself, which gave him just a few inches of a headstart.

Needless to say, normality had quickly resumed in the Farron household.

Serah and Vanille teamed up to tidy the warzone, making it look at least a smidgen presentable. Snow had managed to escape Fang's wrath with only the minimal amount of bruises - she had been feeling merciful. Night fell quickly as the time passed without notice, giving a much needed reprieve from the previous days' events. As Serah cooked dinner in the weak light of dusk, she asked her husband about his day and NORA. Fang sat on the counter and watched on with amusement, idly flipping one of Lightning's butterfly knives in her hand. Vanille was humming to herself, as usual, as she sat at the kitchen table and doodled happily. It was something few knew about the young Pulsian, her passion for creation. Everyone who saw her at a glance would never think she could create such breathtakingly beautiful, or heartbreakingly _true_ and _real_, things as she did. Paintings, drawings, sketches... Vanille did it all. On this evening, in a day of such chaotic events, things went on as they always did.

Yes, normality had returned. But at what cost?

* * *

When Lightning left her home under Fang's orders, she immediately disregarded use of her velocycle; somehow she felt it would only add to her frustration. So she took off on a jog instead, enjoying the feeling of the cool air on her heated skin.

It was very quiet, the world. She didn't exactly live in a neighborhood or the city, but nor was she too far from civilization. The distance between Oerba and her home was a comfort to Lightning; it was not too far or too close. At a time like this, when she needed stillness and time to think, the unoccupied and beautiful area around her home provided the perfect solution. The sky was still heavily overcast and dreary, but only a slight drizzle permeated the air. She breathed deep as she ran, taking in the exotic, spicy smell that was unique to Gran Pulse. Unlike Cocoon, you could taste the air here. It was pure, it was wild, it was _alive._ This foreign and untamed world had quickly found a place in Lightning's heart, much to Fang's unending adoration. To know that her beloved had taken to the world she had so desperately fought for and called home, had made Fang the happiest woman in the world. Thinking on this now, Lightning smiled lovingly and slowed her jog a little.

She needed to reflect. Finding out Pyres was Fang's ex had short-circuited Lightning's ability to think straight, resulting in the fight. How did she feel about this revelation? She didn't know. It felt..strange, to know a woman who was her near twin and her ancestor had had romantic relations with Fang. Did she question Fang's devotion because of it? Possibly. If the huntress had once loved that woman, as Lightning knew she had, then it was entirely believable that Fang still had feelings for Pyres. Was she jealous? Maybe..not that she would admit it to anyone, though. Did she truly hate Pyres, or was it something more?She didn't know. Did she trust the woman? Absolutely not. Would she be able to hold her anger in check the next time they met? Probably not. Lightning frowned as she stopped moving altogether, staring straight ahead of her in contemplation.

If she couldn't control herself around Pyres, her entire family may be royally fucked. The house certainly couldn't take any more battles, and she doubted Fang appreciated the destruction. Or the rivalry, for that matter. Something deep down in her intuition told her they would Pyres in order to face whatever menace was out there corrupting her precious world. She needed her soldier's composure now more than ever, possibly more than when she was still a l'Cie. Something huge was happening, and it was about to blow up in all their faces. If she couldn't get her act together around Pyres, she'd be screwing everyone over. She blew out her breath, irritated, and continued on her way. Perhaps it was time she paid a visit to Lebreau's bar for more than a forced visit.

She needed a drink.

* * *

When Lightning finally stumbled home with the help of Lebreau later that night, Lightning had successfully managed to drown her thoughts in a muddled mesh of alcohol and cigars. Usually she was vehemently opposed to any form of smoking, but when Lebreau had offered her the cigar, she just couldn't care. It had felt strange in her throat, the first puff, but apparently she was a natural at it. Now, as she let herself be tugged through the front door by the barmaid, she couldn't help but giggle. Who would have thought? Her, smoking..in Lebreau's bar, no less, during a compliant visit. The thought was hilarious to her, and as she looked around, she didn't understand why no one else was laughing. Wasn't it funny?

"Lightnin'! What the hell, love?"

Fang's voice broke her train of thought. She looked up under her eyelashes and latched onto the alarmed emerald beauties that were her _wonderful_ beloved's eyes in the swimming and swirling mess that was..everything else. _Mmm, Fang.._ "Faaang!" she sang, launching herself clumsily at the bewildered huntress and latching on with a vengeance. "I missed yoouuu! Why di'dnn you come with me to Laaa..brew's barrr? It was fuuunnn!"

Fang, utterly confused and, to be honest, quite _terrified_, looked at Lebreau for clarification. The barmaid cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck before speaking. "She, uh..showed up at my bar in the middle of nowhere this afternoon and just started drinking like she'd never seen alcohol before in her life. She kept muttering and ranting about 'some bitch' Pyres," she air quoted, mimicking Lightning's words, "and some threat to all of Pulse. She absolutely refused to elaborate and just kept drinking, even accepting my offer of a cigar, or..five. I didn't think you knew where she was, so I took the liberty of bringing her home for you." She bit her lip and crossed her arms awkwardly.

Blinking, Fang looked at Lebreau then down at the soldier practically purring in her arms and nuzzling Fang's chest. It took a few seconds for the information to register, but when it did, anger flashed in her eyes. "What the..Lightnin'!" she exlaimed, lifting the drunken woman's head up to look into her glazed eyes. "I send you off to cool your head and _think_ about your actions, and what do you do? You go off and get _drunk_ for Etro's sake! What has gotten into you?"

Lightning looked at Fang and then began to pout. _Pout!_ Fang's jaw dropped, utterly unprepared for the assault of adorableness on her senses. "But Faannng," Lightning replied, eyes wide, "I did thin'k! I promise, I did. But then..I reeaaallly nnneeded somethinn' to drink, so I went and saw Labrew! What's so wrong with that?"

For the second time that day, Fang spluttered incoherently under the assault of drunken, pouting Lightning. It was inconceivable, impossible, not..probable! Fang looked helplessly at Lebreau, but the barmaid just grinned knowingly and waved as she retreated out the door. Lightning began nuzzling Fang's chest again, and Fang almost melted on the spot. _Damn it, Lightnin', don't do that! _Picking her woman up in her arms, Fang retreated to her room upstairs and locked the door. Lightning began her strange purr sound again and looked under her lashes up at Fang, licking her lips seductively. Gone was cuteness incarnate and in it's place was sex goddess. _Oh Etro, help me._ Fang gulped and sat next to Lightning, unsure if Lightning would be angry in the morning if she gave into the soldier's demands.

Lightning crawled over to Fang and straddled her lap, instantly beginning her assault to Fang's bronzed neck. With a squeak, Fang clutched Lightning tighter and groaned as the soldier nibbled on the flesh. She knew she probably shouldn't let Lightning have her way with her, but then again she didn't want to face a sexually frustrated and pissed off Lightning the next day. Deciding she'd rather have a satisfied and hungover Lightning than an unsatiated, pissed-to-all-hells Lightning to deal with, Fang plucked Lightning off her lap and lay her down on the bed. She proceeded to lie on top of her and continue to attack those utterly delicious lips that moaned her name on contact.

As they voraciously continued, neither noticed the silent figure at the window slink away into the still, dark night.

_A/N: Whew, that was difficult. I had no idea what to do with this chapter for the longest time, thinking that I needed to use Serah to end the fight between Pyres and Lightning due to their mutual affection for the youngest Farron. But it just wouldn't work! So after three attempts with that, I scrapped the idea and started over. That wasn't the only thing keeping me from writing, though. Whenever I get stuck, I read like a madwoman to try and inspire myself. Mostly I try to read things with the same vibe and emotion that I'm going for, but there are times when I get sidetracked. It works, you know. Sometimes, however, the whole of my intention changes and it really feels like it works better than what I had been planning on. Then there was the fact that my sister and her husband dropped in for two weeks to visit. Who does that? They only live two hours away, for crying out loud. Not that I didn't appreciate their company, it's just..kinda awkward. My sister and I are like polar opposites. Anyway, this chapter was written rather differently than the ones before. For a small section, I took a look at everyone else using no one's perspective (as I'm sure you noticed) to just..give them something to cherish for the moment, because I'm about to make the shit hit the fan. I also feel this came out as very emotional, and since I moved the pace up a bit, it might feel a bit disjointed to be with Fang, then no one, then Lightning, then Fang again with a brief Lightning at the beginning. It's shorter than I would have liked, but that's just how it came out. Well, it _could_ have been longer, but I don't want to go into any graphic sexual detail just yet between Lightning and Fang. Will Lightning be angry with Fang? Perhaps. Who was at the window? I'm sure you know. As to what the name of the chapter means, I like to think it refers to how emotional everything is in this one, and the relationship between Fang and Lightning, and maybe even Pyres. I hope everyone enjoyed this! I'm unsure of the pace I want to take up since I spent freaking 15 chapters on just two days - anyone else feel that's waaay too long for that amount of time? Whether it will affect the next chapter or not, I'm unsure. Hopefully you'll get the next one soon! Thank you to all my readers and reviewers :D I should say that enough, but, as this author's note is getting a tad long, I bid you adieu!_


	17. Bloodline

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it._

Bloodline

The first thing Lightning noticed when she awoke the next morning was a heavy, incessant pounding in her head. Her dry and scratchy throat was the next observation, followed by the fact that she was wrapped quite impressively around a warm and very familiar body. Cracking open one eye, she was immediately met with the sight of beautifully bronzed skin and weak, clouded sunlight. She took in a deep breath and tried to remember what she had done last night. Lebreau's face leaped to mind first, then a slew of heavy drinks and revolting cigars. _Great, so I went and got drunk last night. _Pulling slightly away from the body next to hers, Lightning peered at Fang's peaceful face, and then down at the arrangement of bite marks and scratches all over Fang's back and shoulders. Adding that to the twisted sheets, chaotic display of clothing, and general disarray of the entire room made Lightning grimace with recognition. _And I jumped Fang's bones..lovely._ Sighing, Lightning stretched around to look at the clock on the nightstand, groaning when the glowing green numbers read _8:53_ a.m.

Fang began to stir then, drawing her arms tighter around Lightning and pulling the soldier closer. Lightning suppressed another sigh that was one part affection and one part annoyance. Normally she absolutely adored Fang's cuddly nature - _especially_ after a good roll in the sack - but on this particular morning, when she was nursing a bad hangover and still harboring slight feelings of resentment of anger, Lightning didn't really feel like being all buddy-buddy with the huntress. Besides, it's not like she actually _wanted_ to just jump right back into bed with the woman after all the revelations of the previous day. _Honestly, I can't even trust myself to not rut around like an animal in heat with Fang when I'm pissed at her. Stupid alcohol. _She couldn't even remember half the night.

Gritting her teeth, Lightning began expertly extracting herself from Fang's tight hold. Spending months wrapped up in the impossibly strong arms of Oerba Yun Fang had given Lightning invaluable knowledge of how to navigate them. Within just a few minutes she was gingerly swinging her legs to the side of the bed and planning out the rest of the day. _Step one, clean up. Step two, get morning coffee and eat a banana. Step three, find Pyres and get some answers without killing her. _Satisfied with the simple plan - and ignoring the voice telling her step three would not be easy - she stood and headed towards the shower to complete the first step. The pounding in her head lessened under the soothing rhythm of the warm water, something she was deeply grateful for. She allowed herself to luxuriate and relax for once, in part to help the hangover and partially because she felt..disconnected from herself. It was a strange feeling, one she had rarely felt before. It stirred a deep sense of primal fear deep in her bones, and it took everything she had not to let it consume her.

The whole thing her feeling extremely confused.

Fang was still soundly asleep when Lightning finished in the bathroom, a fact that made her lips twitch in amusement. Sometimes her huntress slept like a bear in hibernation. Lightning dressed quietly and bent over the bed, gracing Fang's forehead with a delicate kiss. Fang sighed deeply and smiled, snuggling into Lightning's pillow she was clutching. Lightning chuckled softly before leaving the room, making sure to be silent as she descended the stairs. Her earlier ruminations returned and she frowned, irritated. Emotions hadn't bothered her like this in a long time and it was starting to really grate on her nerves. Not to mention the fact that apparently the world was going to shit.

"Claire! Quit being so grumpy this early in the morning!"

Lightning blinked, turning her gaze to the owner of the voice. Serah was standing next to her, arms crossed, with a scolding look on her face. Lightning raised an eyebrow, continuing on her way towards the coffee maker. "I told you not to call me that anymore, Serah," she said, filling the pot with water and pouring ground beans into the top. She knew without having to turn around that Serah's face had fallen into a near dejected expression, feelings slightly hurt. In Lightning's present state of mind, however, she couldn't bring herself to care much. Serah was a big girl now, and there were more important things that needed her attention. Like the nagging feeling in her gut of utter doom and the fact that her ancestor had popped in from nowhere, who also happened to be Fang's ex. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Alright, Lightning. What would you like for breakfast?" Serah asked, breaking Lightning's train of thought. Lightning didn't reply and merely reached for a banana on the fruit stand nearby, not breaking her concentration from her task of making coffee. Serah huffed, muttering under her breath as she began to scramble a few eggs. Lightning remained silent, her headache beginning to return full force. _Oh the joys of a hangover. _Heavy footsteps signaled the presence of Snow, furthering Lightning's discontent. She turned and gave Serah an angry look, barely managing to restrain a snarl.

"Please tell me he did not stay the night, Serah," Lightning demanded.

Serah stiffened, terrified. She knew exactly what that tone meant, and it wasn't going to be pretty. "Um..he didn't spend the night?" she squeaked, smiling sheepishly. Lightning narrowed her eyes. Without taking her eyes off her sister, she drew a knife from the cutlery holder on the counter and threw it with deadly precision towards the doorway just as Snow entered. It landed exactly on the edge of the panel, just an inch away from Snow's eye. He froze midstep, mouth opened like a fool as his morning greeting to Serah died on his lips. Serah stopped breathing, immobile as Lightning's cold eyes held her gaze for several moments. Snow dared not move from his spot, not even when Lightning turned back to her coffee. When the elder Farron continued to ignore him, though, he slowly backed away and quietly left the house. He was loud just enough to let Lightning know he was leaving but subtle enough to not disturb her more. Serah meekly returned to her own morning task of breakfast, thoroughly cowed. Fang joined the sisters a half hour later, whistling joyfully, but was instantly muted as well when Lightning threatened her with another knife.

No one spoke for the rest of the morning.

* * *

By the time early afternoon rolled around, Fang felt she was wound entirely too tight. Vanille was still asleep, amazingly, and so had unwittingly avoided the glowering and dangerous Lightning. Fang and Serah, however, had not been so fortunate. The continued silence was making the huntress feel like she was in prison. Poor Serah had spent the entire morning sitting nervously in the destroyed living room, anxiously awaiting her sister's next blow up. Lightning herself had been sequestered in her office, researching old histories. As for Fang, she'd taken to pacing to rid herself of the negative energy with which Lightning was suffocating everyone.

Fang didn't know how much more she could take.

Thankfully, Pyres chose that time to return. She swept through the doorway like a specter of death, silent and deadly. Fang jumped at the woman's sudden appearance. "_Bloody-! _Don't do that!" she exclaimed, scowling. Pyres only smirked and went to sit beside Serah.

"What has you so nervous?" Pyres asked, brow raised.

Serah tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Lightning's been a bit..strung up today." She ducked her head, twiddling her thumbs. "She freaked when she found out my husband-to-be, Snow, had stayed the night because she's never approved of my relationship with him. Well, to be honest she's never approved of _him_. He never met her standards right from the start and he hasn't managed to improve her view of him one bit."

Pyres chuckled and ruffled Serah's hair a bit. "I'm sure she has her reasons. Etro knows I fought my own sister on all of her relationships." Her expressioned darkened. "Except for the last, and final, one. Just one look at the two and it was painfully obvious that they truly loved each other. I had objected to everyone else before then because I knew none of them were right for her. But then..." A wistful smile touched her lips. "She met the one, and I couldn't have been happier for her."

"How touching."

Serah squeaked at the unexpected intrustion, whipping around to gaze fearfully at her sister. Lightning strode purposefully into the room, glaring at Pyres. To her credit, the eldest Farron did not flinch nor look away, she merely gazed back with an amused expression. Lightning stood across from the pair on the only intact couch left, arms crossed. "I need to ask you a few things, Pyres," she stated, cold eyes unwavering. "And you are going to answer them."

Pyres was silent and just looked at Lightning. Waiting.

"First off," Lightning cooly began, "I want to know how old you are, how you know all of this about Death and everything that you _do_ know and just aren't telling us, what happened to your sister, how the hell you know Fang, and, most importantly, how we are going to stop the end of all life."

Pyres chuckled. "So full of questions. A few of those are _personal_," her voice grew downright chilly, eyes flashing dangerously, "and won't be answered. Anything else of relevance, however, I'll be happy to indulge. I'd have done it yesterday, but we both had a similar lapse in temper and needed time to cool off.

"To answer your first question, I'm quite old. I was around during the days of Death's time in power, born at the start of it's reign. I'm sure Fang has showed you the parchment dealing with a small piece of our family's ancestry, so you are aware of a difference in family names. That is because Death split the bloodline in two, keeping it whole in just myself, and separated the family into those that served him in life, and those that served him in the realm of death. Each bloodline followed it's appointed task until The Fall, at which time both families fell under the radar."

"Wait just a minute," Lightning cut in. "You said Death kept the bloodline whole in you. What did you mean by that."

"I mean that in order to split it, something had to be created of the residual energy. I am your one true ancestor, born out of the rift of the bloodline. Because I am the sole creation of Death, I spent a great portion of my lifetime as it's servant. After The Fall, I served the fal'Cie unwillingly and thus spent many years in crystal stasis between focuses."

"Which of the families do Serah and I come from?"

"Why, " Pyres grinned suddenly, making Lightning feel uneasy, "both, of course."

"Both?" Lightning was skeptic.

"Yes, both. One of your parents was from one and the second the other. It's not that hard to figure out - I did say I am your one true ancestor. We share the combined blood, made of the same flesh and life."

"We are not the same," Lightning spat out, refusing to believe she was too much like Pyres. Her inner voice was not so sure. _If Fang can love the both of us, just how similar do you _think_ you two are?_ She clenched her teeth in frustration. Pyres continued speaking:

"In answer to your second question, I know all of this about Death because I was it's most trusted and capable General, and Commander of it's vast armies. Being it's creation, I had little choice and knew of nothing until The Fall. Death never believed I would betray it because I was bound to it in more ways than one. This is also something we share in common, Lightning Farron." Her gaze was deep and cutting as it settled on Lightning.

"And just what does that mean?" Lightning's own eyes were narrowed, the uneasiness in her gut growing with each word that left Pyres' lips.

"You know exactly what it means. While your arm was infected you got drawn into Death's Domain and had your mind messed with. I wouldn't put it past Death to have already implanted a deeper connection between the two of you while you were there. Of course, you'd never know of it if It did."

"Quit going in circles and just answer the damn questions!"

"But I am, you simply lack the patience and insight to see past the 'circles' that are the truth." Lightning pressed her lips together. She would not rise to the bait. "Because I was Death's creation and General, I was bound body and soul to It. What you fail to realize, Lightning, is that you share this same connection because we are of the same blood, from the orginal bloodline. This makes you and Serah special because of what that means for the two of you. I was corrupted and twisted without any knowledge of it happening.

"Mark my words, _Claire._ If Death has already managed to dig It's claws into you then you will, without a doubt, fall prey into this corruption without knowing it is happening. Your way of thinking, the way you act, your very character will change gradually over time. You won't want to believe it, especially since the information is coming from, but you will be in denial right up until the very end. The corruption will be complete and you won't know you've been anything else. It's not a split personality, and it's not mind possession. Suggestion is a very powerful thing that can mould and manipulate you without giving away it's true intent.

"All of your morals and values that you hold now will slowly and gradually change under the illusion that it's because _you_ are deciding to change when in actuality it is because of Death's influence. Everything you know will do a complete one-eighty, and you will become an entirely different person. Reversing the process is impossible, though gaining your old self is possible. I know all of this because it has happened to me. I struggle everyday with this other.._side_ to myself, this.._thing_ that is and isn't me. I pray for you, Lightning, if Death has already managed to turn you. The destruction and chaos you will wrought under It's command will haunt you for the rest of your days."

Thick silence settled in the room at Pyres' last words. Lightning was too deep in thought to be bothered with speech; Fang was stuck between painful comprehension and anger. Serah was too shocked, mind weaving a twisting maze of thoughts at this revelation. The youngest Farron was unsure if she was at risk as well, something that troubled the young woman. And the fact that their parents were actually kind of related? That boggled her mind. Pyres observed them all patiently - having lived thousands of years made a few minutes seem like no time at all.

Harsh ringing sounded from within Lightning's pouch. She scowled before reaching in and retrieving her military earphone. "Farron here," she greeted, voice clipped.

_"Farron! We've got another situation down at the Springs. I know I put you on leave for a few days, but I hear tell you're all healed up and got this mess all figured out. Is that true?"_ Amodar was all but screaming through the earpiece.

Lightning frowned, confused. "That's correct, sir, but I'm not sure I have everything entirely sorted out. There's still a lot we don't know, but -"

_"That doesn't matter! If you're fit to go and have at least _some_ answers, I need you to get down to the Springs ASAP and attend to that mess down there. Once it's all cleared, you're coming in to HQ and giving an explanation. Is that clear?"_

"Perfectly, sir. Is there anything else?"

_"Bring backup. You're gonna need it."_

Amodar hung up without further orders, leaving Lightning to deal with three inquisitive stares. She sighed and motioned towards the doorway. "There's another situation down at the Springs. Amodar said to bring backup and that I need to head down to HQ to explain this whole thing." A sudden thought made her eye Fang suspiciously. "Did you happen to call him last while I was..out?"

Fang looked baffled at the question. "Eh? Why would I? It's not like you were on duty or anythin'," she responded. "Why do you ask?"

_Then how did he know my arm is healed and that I have some answers. _"Hm, strange. It doesn't matter right now, we need to get down there immediately. Pyres, you're coming with us - you know more than anyone about what's going on. Oh, and don't think this means we're done with the questions."

Pyres raised an eyebrow but stood up anyway, fully intending on going before Lightning had even said anything. Fang ran out of the room and up the stairs to acquire their weapons. Lightning and Pyres stared each other down, tense. Neither liked the other very much, but on Pyres' side it was slightly more senseless. Lightning just disliked her because of what she represented: a separate Lightning from the past that Fang loved, and now that she was back, could easily steal Fang away. Pyres felt like she needed to cling to Fang no matter who the huntress really loved. A desire for a happier memory.

When Fang came back, her alarmed and confused expression immediately put the two Farrons on edge. Fang threw Lightning her gunblade and slid her lance on her back at the same. "Uh, guys?" she began, worry replacing her confusion. "Where's Vanille?"

_Where's Vanille? Shouldn't she be... _Lightning's eyes widened. _She didn't!_

Fang zeroed in on her expression. "What do you know, Lightning?"

Lightning grit her teeth and ran out the door. "I think she's down at the Springs, though how she could have known about the trouble is beyond me. She's the one who told Amodar about my healed arm and knowledge of this whole bloody..agh!" She said no more as she disappeared on her velocyle. Fang cursed and ran after her, muttering under her breath about sisters and 'bloody Farrons.' Pyres calmly proceeded onto the porch, turning to wave and wink at Serah with a smirk before shutting the door behind her.

Serah blinked, feeling a little frazzled until the meaning of the whole situation settled in her mind. She pressed her palms to forehead and groaned.

* * *

_A/N: Gah, I rewrote this a few times and even now it just feels..wrong. I think I've got my pacing straight now, so hopefully it won't take so long to get the next chapter out. I hope you're not getting too fed up with all the secrets around Death and The Fall - I'm getting there, I promise. The whole split-in-the-families was hard to explain right, and after rewriting that part over and over I'm still not sure I've made it understandable. Same thing with the corruption-of-character thing. Words suck sometimes. If you remember from one of the earlier chapters when Fang was explaining to Serah what was on the parchment, you might recall her saying there should have been no way they would have been able to change the symbol of the family or the name without a transformation some sort or a power greater than a fal'Cie (cough Death cough). At that time I was referring to split bloodline: one has one symbol and spelling, the other a different name and spelling. The reason it changed on the parchment is because one bloodline either left or was cast out by the other, and no one else knew. Make sense? _

_I've kinda paused on the edits for now because I want to do the first chapter before any others because it will be the most difficult. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! To all those you read, favourite, review, and add to alerts, I thank you. :D_


	18. A Task Undertaken

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything to do with it. _

A Task Undertaken

After hearing the commotion drunk Lightning caused, Vanille giggled and settled herself down to sleep for the night. "Big day tomorrow!" she sang, giddy with excitement. The day had been full of turmoil, destruction, and tension, but the ending had the young Oerban in high spirits. She was confident they would be able to conquer whatever Death would throw at them, and come out relatively unscathed on the other side. _Just like with our Focus!_

Ready to take on the challenge of the next day, Vanille fell swiftly into a deep sleep, and into the arms of a strange dream.

It started out as any other dream. Colourful, happy, and in a place she absolutely adored, Vanille never expected things to take a different turn. One minute she was hunting special herbs to surprise Fang with in the beautiful wilds, the next he was being sucked into a dazzling white light. "Eeeee!" she squealed, squeezing her eyes shut as the intense light burned her very skin.

When all vertigo ceased, Vanille opened her eyes to find herself in an endless plain of white lilies. She stared in amazement at the neverending expanse, awed by it's beauty. The flowers seemed to shine with an inner light of purity, giving the air a pulsing glow. The wind rode a tinkling chime synonymous with what many people would call peace, but the word didn't seem to do the chime justice. It was light, airy, and soothing - full of the brightness of life. Vanille marveled at the simplicity of the tune, unable to attach any mortal word to the sound. It was almost...divine. Even the sunlight made her hum with happiness.

Upon that thought, she opened her mouth to exclaim in joy the odd, yet welcome, change in scenery...

...but not a peep left her. Suddenly panicked, the young Oerban almost tripped in her haste to get away, to find her way to her meager dream of before where she was free to make as much sound as she wanted.

A flash of bright light stopped her yet again. It started small and grew immensely large until it seemed to consume the air she breathed. Her very eyelids felt like they were on fire, such was the intensity of the light. When she was able to look up again - at what seemed to be several moments later - Vanille's jaw dropped in awe at what she saw.

Standing before her was a tall woman of colossal beauty and an air of..._peaceful (there was that word again that didn't _quite_ describe the strange feeling) _eminence. Vanille half felt the need to gawk, half the need to drop on her knees and pray. It was the oddest combination she had felt in a long time.

The woman smiled graciously, nearly blinding Vanille with the sheer radiance and kindness in that one gesture. Even though she could not take her eyes off of the stranger, Vanille found she could not discern any of her features. Before Vanille could continue her assessment, however, the woman spoke to her in sounds that were not words in the mortal tongue, but a translation to it. The woman's mouth did not move to speak, and Vanille instinctively knew her own would not either.

_**"Greetings, young one." **_Her smile never wavered, nor did the kind light in her eyes fade.

"Um, hello. I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

_**"I am The Divine, the Shaper of Worlds and Master of Life. You humans have sought to give me name in the many, yet few, years you have wandered both Gran Pulse and Cocoon. Your culture refers to me as 'the Creator,' I believe."**_

Vanille's heart dropped out from underneath her. "Th-that's...not..."

_**"Fear not that your eyes and mind deceive you, Oerba Dia Vanille," **_the woman continued, obviously knowing what Vanille was going to say. _**"Though I have been absent from your realm for many human years, I have never ceased to exist - for without I, no Life could continue."**_

"I...I am honoured you grace me with your presence, Eminence...But..." Here Vanille frowned, unsure how to voice her question.

_**"You are unsure what my reason is, correct?"**_

Vanille nodded.

The woman's kind smile faded into a sad line. _**"Certain actions have given me cause to seek help in a matter most grave, one I am sure you are familiar with." **_She paused, studying Vanille with some scrutiny. When Vanille's eyes widened in recognition some moments later, the avatar of the Creator continued, _**"Yes, Death has started It's conquest for power in things that It long ago lost right to. I stripped It of such when It made to grab for my own power over Life - a grave offense and impossibility. Life and Death cannot exist in the same being, no matter how powerful. Nor can one exist without the other: there can be no life without death, and no death without life. Our very natures rely upon the other, despite the rivalry and hatred Death seems to have for mine.**_

_**"One thing you must understand, young one, is that there must always be a balance of power. When the spectrum tips too much on one side, the other must adjust accordingly by either increasing their own power or taking part of the other's away. Why do you think plagues and violent uprisings occur, as well as long measures of peace? If we do not reach equilibrium with each other, time and existence will unravel."**_

"Why are you telling _me_ about all of this? I mean, what could I as a mere mortal help in such a...divine issue?"

Here the Creator's expression turned grave and apologetic. _**"I am afraid I need your assistance in this. There is only so much I can do from my own realm that I have resided for so long. To even speak with you here, in this space I have created between our two realms, is a great effort. My time runs short, so you must listen - and listen carefully."**_

"Whatever you need!" To be of help to the _Creator_, of all things, was a monumental honour. However, the soothing breeze began to change it's chime and clouds began to roil in the distance. The Creator paid them no heed.

_"__**With eyes to see what others cannot, you must venture to places where Death and I cannot reach. To do this, understanding is required; faith, demanded; hope...abolished.**_ Y_**ou alone will be granted a small measure of farsight to battle the devious cunnings of Death and It's minions. Alone, you will not be able to overcome Death. Unite yourself with your friends and guardians. Do not let Death gain the upper hand, or the damage may be too high to repair."**_

Vanille nodded gravely, committing each word to memory. As the wind began swirl dangerously and a faint roaring started up, she had one last question. "I understand - I will do everything I can to help. But...why me, of all people?"

The bright light from before appeared again, sweeping gently over the Creator and Vanille. The young Oerban had to shield her eyes again, nearly blinded. Over the now deafening roar of the encroaching storm, Vanille almost missed the Creator's reply,

_**"Because, young one, you have always possessed a trait that few others have ever had. It is one of unconditional giving, of unparalleled caring. But most importantly, it is because your very spirit has always been linked to the power of creation. From birth, your soul has been intertwined with my being."**_ The Creator's voice began to fade out, leaving Vanille feeling strangely empty with it's absence. _**"Be well, Oerba Dia Vanille, and go forth armed with the knowledge I have given you. Prepare yourself."**_

And then she was gone, and Vanille was swept up into the storm. Her body was compressed and tossed about in the malevolent clouds, unable to halt her movements. Lightning passed inches from her body, setting her hairs on end. However, just as she felt that she couldn't take anymore, the storm dropped it's hold on her. She fell through the now incorporeal plain of flowers and entered a...vacancy of existence, if she could call it anything.

Suffocating darkness on all sides, Vanille could not tell which was up or down, left or right - if she was falling, or rising. Innately she knew she was protected from the nonspace surrounding her, the feeling of a slight caress on the tips of her senses supplying her with this knowledge...almost as if she was being given passage through a tunnel. The bottom - _or was it top? _- opened up, and the nonspace vanished. Her sense of direction returned violently, as she felt herself hurtling downward at an alarming speed.

At a glance, Vanille could not tell where she had been dropped, but as she continued to look around, she realized with a gasp that she was now in Gran Pulse...as it was being torn apart.

The very sky she was falling through was tinted a red deep as blood, with a specks of darkness hanging around the horizon every which way she looked. Horrific monsters the size of Taejin's Tower attacked cities and people, swarming with a dark aura that made her sick to her stomach. Even at the height at which she was still falling, Vanille could hear the despair of the living and sense the overwhelming amount of agonized souls screaming in pain. All of her senses then proceeded to explode simulatneously.

The smell of death was everywhere - _Can't breathe, can't breathe! -_

The air felt dirty and suffocating, almost as if it was trying to squash her into submission - _Nonono, don't, nooo! -_

The metallic taste of blood flooded her tongue, calling forth unpleasant memories of the War -_ Dear Creator, no! -_

She continued to fall and fall, until the impact was mere seconds away. By that point, Vanille was too far gone to realize death was not that far away for her own self. She paid it no mind.

Without a hiccup, Vanille passed through the ground like it was nothing but a cloud, and fell into the hellish arms of the dead souls condemned by Death.

* * *

"Noooo!"

Vanille's eyes shot open. Her mind took a few seconds to catch up with the waking world, and a few more to wonder what had woken her. A loud pounding on her door made her jump and squeak in fright, the nightmare fresh in mind.

"Van_ille! _Breakfast is about to be served, so if you don't get your ass outta bed, there ain't gonna be any for ya!"

_Fang. _Vanille almost sobbed in relief at that voice. As it was, she managed a hum of acknowledgement to Fang before the huntress stalked off downstairs. Vanille let out a shaky breath. "Etro," she whispered, trembling hands covering her face. Sweat made her orange tresses stick uncomfortably to her forehead, and her clothes even more so. "What am I going to do...?"

She felt an overwhelming sense of terror slowly overriding her temporary calm. It was accompanied by an indescribable need to _hurry_ somewhere - to prevent something from happening. Though the dream was crystal sharp, she couldn't make sense of the fear or the urgency. _Am I... Is this... Was that really a premonition of some sort? _

If it was, Vanille was in _serious_ trouble. That, or she had finally gone stark raving mad.

Tiny hands curled into painful fists. If she had been granted a brief gift of foresight from the Creator herself, she was not about to squander it on useless wonderings. After all, the only way she would be able to tell herself would be if she followed the tug her urgency was giving her. "Nothing to lose, right?" she muttered to herself. She dressed quietly and exited the house even quieter - this was a task given to her, and her alone.

As she left, stone gray eyes silently watched her departure. They narrowed slightly, a gleam suddenly present.

The time was _10:07 a.m._ Vanille would be gone for a few hours yet.

* * *

The area around the Sulyya Springs was completley surrounded by the Guardian Corps - a fact Vanille's sharp eyes did not miss. None of the soldiers milling about even glanced her, however. They all knew she was a former L'cie and a sort-of-honourary member of the Corps as it was. They all had more important things to concern themselves with - such as the sudden remolding and continued sinister nature of the Springs. Vanille's sense of urgency increased twofold, so she hurried along between the busy men and women completing some task or other. A feeling of wrongness permeated the air, thickening as she grew closer to the command tent just feet away from the entrance to the main part of the Springs. _Whatever's going on, it's definitely not good - and this is definitely the place I was being led to. But what help can _I_ be?_ Insides slowly twisting, Vanille took a deep breath and nervously entered the giant blue tent that served as the command center. Which also meant Amodar would be in there, Lightning's direct Commanding Officer. Vanille just knew he was the man she needed to see.

As it was, the amiable man was focusing on a large screen in the center of the room that was displaying a confusing amalgamation of numbers, colours, swirls and shapes. Just looking at it made Vanille's head hurt. _All that military nonsense is such...nonsense._ She had to suppress a giggle at the absurdity of her own thoughts.

"Ahem...Amodar?" she queried as she slowly approached the center table. Amodar looked up sharply at her, blinking a few times to let his bloodshot eyes adjust to Vanille's shadowed face.

"Eh? Vanille? What are you doing here?" His surprise was expected, seeing as how he hadn't contacted Lightning yet.

"Weeellll," Vanille began, tapping her two pointer fingers together. Her insides twisted again. "I could feel something was wrong so I came to investigate..."

Amodar's face twisted into a grave scowl, the bags under his eyes becoming more pronounced. "Damned right something's wrong - _everything_'s wrong. This whole damned place is changing into something awful, and the clear water has still not returned. In fact, I'd say the sludge has grown murkier and more...nasty. This is an issue we cannot afford to hope to correct on its own. Most of Oerba's water supply comes from these Springs, as you know, and if this continues as it is..." He left off, knowing the gravity of the situation was not lost on Vanille. "My soldiers have been analyzing and researching the sludge, but all it does is make the machines go haywire. Fal'cie be damned!" He threw a random pen across the way, puncturing a hole in the tent. Vanille stared wide-eyed at him. "Why can _nothing_ go right for longer than a year or two? _Huh! _We just finished settling into life here-"

Whatever Amodar was about to say next was cutoff by a massive screeching noise associated only with shifting plate rock. The ground beneath them began to shake violently, and everyone was sent sprawling. The quake grew in intensity until a giant _Crack!_ was heard from inside the Springs, along with the inhuman scream of the unliving. Adrenaline kicked in for Vanille, and she found some semblance of balance on the ground. "Call Lightning and everyone else!" she screamed to Amodar, already making her way out the tent flap to assist the now dying soldiers outside. "I'll help damage control!" Readying a fireball in her hand, Vanille charged forth into one of the most gruesome battles she had been witness to since the War without waiting for a reply.

_Creator help us!_

* * *

_A/N: Eh heh...long time no see, right? Absolutely unforgiveable I know. I have been astronomically busy for the past two months, and have just now found the time to write. In fact, this chapter was going to be completely different until I took a second look at it. Vanille's role is now more pronounced and evident, yet still obscure. Each character has their own role to play in Death's gamble for the Creator's power over Life. Some of them, such as Sazh and Hope, have not been present in the story so far because they have no role at this point. They will come in later when things start to kick up more than this. I almost feel terrible for leaving you with such a cliffhanger, but it is necessary :D I hope you enjoyed, and the next chapter will _hopefully_ be out much sooner than this one was. _


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